


The Hummel Quest (REWRITE IN PROGRESS)

by artyrambles



Category: Hummel Quest, World of Tanks
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Language, Gen, sentient machines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-18 03:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 59
Words: 89,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2334263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artyrambles/pseuds/artyrambles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(This version of the story is obsolete! Please see the notes for a link for the updated version!) An epic story of suspense, betrayal, team kill, fear, and friendship in a dystopian alternate universe where humans no longer exist and tanks are sentient.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Noob

**Author's Note:**

> **ATTENTION: This story is going to be rewritten to meet the quality level of its sequel. The old, original version will still be available[here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4RyEBUei6Tielo4QnpmZGZwVUE/view?usp=sharing) in the future.**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [PLEASE READ THE REWRITTEN STORY HERE!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11723292/chapters/26407239)
> 
> * * *
> 
> This story was originally published on my [blog](http://artyrambles.tumblr.com) and later on [fanfiction.net](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/10216794/1/The-Hummel-Quest). The chapter numeration and format changed quite a lot since the beginning, which is why the word count fluctuates wildly at first, but it ended up being around 1k~2k per chapter.
> 
> You can find extra info and stuff in my respective blog tags!  
> ˖[Random facts about the AU](http://artyrambles.tumblr.com/tagged/headcanon) | [More facts](http://official-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/hummelverse) | [Even more facts](http://the-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/hummelverse)  
> ˖[Story related art](http://artyrambles.tumblr.com/tagged/hummelart) | [More art](http://official-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/hummelart) | [Even more art](http://the-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/hummelart)  
> ˖[Directory of all related and spin-off stories](http://the-hummelverse.tumblr.com/stories)  
> ˖[Little bonus fics set in the Hummelverse](http://official-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/ficlet) | [More ficlets](http://the-hummelverse.tumblr.com/tagged/ficlet)
> 
> My first language isn't English, so if you find any strange grammar or choice of words, you now know why. :D I'm happy if they are pointed out to me, and other criticism is also always welcome!  
> Lastly I'd like to thank everyone who made it possible for me to write this great story and those who have been supporting me. You guys are awesome and without you there would be no Hummel Quest! ♥

The Leichttraktor didn’t know why he woke up alone one day. Well, actually he _did_ know. But who needed those elitist idiots anyway? They could go and flaunt their victories around all they wanted, somewhere else. He wasn’t a very strong tank, and he couldn’t help it, so why make a big deal of it? All the others had advanced and upgraded to stronger tiers, while he was still his good old tier 1 self. And he was comfortable with it, much more than he could imagine being in any other tank.

There were other, more important things to do for a Leichttraktor of his caliber. For example….Okay. Admittedly, he felt pretty lonely. And he actually might have been following their tracks – and he actually might have lost them.

He wasn’t going at full speed, since it made little sense. If he was going into the completely wrong direction, he would only be going nowhere faster. The hope to find them again had decreased with every day he had been driving through landscape after landscape blindly. He knew where they were headed, but how was he supposed to find his way if he didn’t even know where he was? All he knew was that he was following a seemingly endless road.

His only luck was that he hadn’t run into any enemy teams yet. The idea to ask them for directions was a silly one that kept him amused and distracted for a while. Almost too distracted.

The Leichttraktor came to a screeching halt as the road ahead of him suddenly _exploded_.

His turret swung around in search of an attacker, but he couldn’t see anyone. Quickly he accelerated backwards in hope of evading the next shot that surely was about to follow. The strength of that explosion…that must have been a heavy at least…!

He felt his engine thrumming behind his armor in fear. There was no way he could defeat a heavy! Anxiously, he kept accelerating until he reached a rock and drove behind it quickly.

However, he neither heard the sound of tracks, nor did another shot follow. How strange! Had his attacker lost interest because he was just a little Leichttraktor, barely worth the shells that a tank of a higher tier could shoot at him?

But then, he _did_ hear something. It sounded like rattling, but not the kind of rattling sound that tank treads would produce. What in the world…?

Now full of curiousity, he tentatively inched out of his cover a little to get a look and hopefully spot what had fired at him this time. There was an outcry of some sort, and a second detonation right in front of the rock let debris fly around the Leichttraktor’s turret.

He cursed and quickly reversed back into his hiding place.

Was that other guy possibly just as scared as he was?


	2. Awol

Oh dear. Oh boy. This was the end. That tank behind that rock over there….must have been a tier 6  _at least_. The Wespe shook on his suspension, aiming at the rock frantically while waiting for his gun to reload. He was as good as dead. Maybe he should have never run away from his team. What an awful idea! …But he probably would have died there as well.

_It was raining fire. The Wespe backed up, and backed up, but found himself with his back against a wall as the enemy tanks closed in. One of their VK 36s intercepted, stalling their advance as he fired a round at the spearhead of the enemy attack, destroying the medium with one shot. The Wespe tried to focus on his sights as he aimed for the moving enemies, but his barrel shook too bad. The VK 36 was suddenly in flames, two lights taking his place but losing health fast under the onslaught of enemy forces. There was a distressed comm from his sister, a Pershing, but the Wespe could barely make out any of the words as an enemy Luchs broke through, sprinting towards the Wespe's position. The allied artillery right next to him died under a hail of bullets, and that was when the Wespe's treads gained a life of their own. He turned around as fast as he could and sped down the nearest hill, the Luchs pursuing but not getting a clear shot yet. Shells whistled left and right of the Wespe's armor, one of them hitting him in the back but not slowing him down in the least._

_He drove as fast and as far as he could and didn't look back._

The bad memories of the enemy tanks rushing into their base and taking apart the heavies like they were made of paper distracted the Wespe just long enough to not right away notice the other tank sticking his turret out of the cover once again.

It was…a Leichttraktor? They…they weren't really dangerous, right? The tiny gun barrel of the other tank was turning hastily from one side to the other, still looking for the source of the fire. Damn, why couldn't he just hit anything for once? Sometimes, the Wespe hated his gun for being as inaccurate as it was. Maybe it was time for another plan…

"G-Go away!" he tried to shout, but it came out more like a chirp.

A laugh could be heard, and before the Wespe knew he was suddenly bumped into. How- he was hidden so well behind a bush!  
"Hey, Ma'am, why are you scared? I'm just a tier 1!"  
The Wespe resisted the urge to fire from surprise and it took a moment until the other's words had sunken in.  
" _Ma'am?_ " he echoed, voice shrill with disbelief. "I ain't a Ma'am!"  
There was an awkward silence. "…a Sir? Huh. That's unusual." the Leichttraktor mused, befuddled. He had probably never met a male artillery before. To be fair, they were few among the German SPGs, but they existed nevertheless. But what could a little tier one know?

The Wespe's engine howled with indignation and he considered turning around and driving away. "W-Who are you anyway?" he asked instead. Even if this stranger seemed to be a dork, he indeed didn't look dangerous, and that was good. A weak tank and a SPG were already better than a SPG and no tank.  
Grinning a tank-grin, the Leichttraktor turned his turret slightly, gun awry.  
"They call me Noob. You?" he responded cheerfully. Apparently he was happy too to meet someone who wasn't trying to kill him.  
"I'm….Awol."  
That wasn't his real name, but he felt that it suited him better than his old one. After all, that's what he was now.  
"Nice to meet you, Awol!" Noob didn't seem stumped by the name at all. The Wespe gave him a sheepish smile. The other tank returned it, and went on.  
"Why are you traveling alone? Isn't that dangerous for artillery? Where's your team?"

The Leichttraktor was rocking back and forth on his tracks, obviously enjoying the conversation but also seeming a little impatient for some reason. Maybe he had places to be? Awol already wanted to apologize in advance because the memory of the last battle and the shame were still too fresh to tell the whole story.  
"I don't want to talk about it…" he said quietly, gun drooping. After a short pause where no one said anything, he eventually added. "Where are you going? Can I come with you, maybe?" The response he got was a hearty laugh, and the Leichttraktor drove a little circle around him. "Of course you can! We're going to…uhm…a cool place."


	3. Arty

_[Westfield.]_

"Why are you camping?"

"Arty, relocate!"

"Haha!"

The sound of cannons being fired in quick succession filled the base and the air. The M5 Stuart laughed as he shot another shell at his team mate, missing only barely on purpose. Dirt flew up as the explosion formed a little crater right next to the Sturmpanzer II's treads.

"Stop that!" she hissed, moving about like a caged animal while trying to evade the fire that her team mates were directing at her. It wasn't like they even gave her a chance to escape. Another shot grazed her side armor, ricocheting but still causing a nasty dent.  
"Come on! Move!" the M5 goaded, aiming his cannon barrel straight at her this time. His partner in crime, the M7, didn't shoot, knowing well that a single one of his shells could kill their team mate, but that didn't stop him from cackling gleefully as he kept blocking every possible route of escape.

It felt justified in that moment as the Sturmpanzer mimicked the M5, pointing the barrel of her gun at him. "Fine then" she growled as she fired. What she hadn't seen coming was the fact that her shell actually hit the bullseye.  
An explosion made the whole camp go silent, and as the smoke of the Sturmpanzer's shot had cleared away, all that was left of the M5 was a burning wreck.

At once, the other team mates swarmed the scene; everyone wanted to know what had happened. Was it an enemy attack? The Sturmpanzer gaped in horror. She knew what a team kill meant.  
The M7 started shrieking, blubbering about how Arty had killed his friend for no reason. Her barrel was raised high in alarm as loud voices rose in the crowd, demanding an eye for an eye.

They didn't outright kill her, since team killing was forbidden even when the killed had been a killer, but the penalty in such a case was almost worse: Exile.

A lone artillery was as good as dead, and even if she should survive, she was dead to her team.


	4. Eject

_[Himmelsdorf.]_

Sometimes the T29 missed the old days. He took out a Tiger, and it was almost too easy. Fondly, he remembered the lower tier battles, when he had been inexperienced and everything had felt like a novelty. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes intoxicating. But at the moment, all he felt was monotony.

The last enemy fell, and the T29's team took all the time they needed to get back to their base.

Everyone queued up to refuel, their light tank bringing the fuel they had raided from the enemy base. Fuel was rare nowadays, which was the cause of all the fighting in the first place. Since there were no real leaders in the teams, everyone should have the same rights, but the ones who were first in line were usually the most experienced ones who performed best on the battlefield and therefore had the most respect.

"When are we continuing on?" a GW Panther asked. The T29 only gave her an indifferent look as he made his way to his garage spot after having received his ration. Of course the artillery hated it here. He saw her almost die on the hill a few battles ago, as she had made a desperate attempt to climb it to get a better overview and actually be able to shoot something in the crowded area.

But the town was easier to defend than the open fields the SPGs preferred. The T29 didn't feel the need to move on. After all, he had seen most of the world already and fought so many battles that he wasn't really looking forward to wasting fuel on relocating needlessly in search of a nicer place.


	5. Sky

The night was dark, clouds obstructing the view of the stars. A cold wind was blowing as the team lay asleep, except for two tanks.

"I have to go" the M26 Pershing said to her friend. The Hellcat didn't look happy; he hadn't liked the idea from the very start. Ever since that one battle, the M26's brother had been missing, and she wanted to find him, see if he was still alive. She felt that he still was, but there was no way of knowing for sure unless she followed that trail of tread tracks. It wasn't even for sure if she'd ever return, she could get ambushed or run into enemy territory without knowing. It could be a trap for all they knew. But even though he wanted to to make sure she was safe, the Hellcat couldn’t come with her. Their team needed every tank right now.

Nevertheless, she couldn't be convinced to stay. The Hellcat knew that she wasn't weak and could stand her ground, but there was something else.

"They will see you as a traitor. You might not be able to come back."  
"I know. But I have to – I'm sorry."

With that, she drove off. All he could do was look after her with a churning feeling in his fuel tanks.

Night had turned into day when Sky reached an area known as Mountain Pass. She was making her way through a narrow valley, the mountain rising up high on both sides. In the distance, she could hear the brawl of a waterfall, but there was no sight of it yet.

She had been following her brother's tracks, always on the lookout for enemies. On her way she had almost run straight into an enemy base, but had managed to escape before the majority of the team had noticed.

The rest of the journey up until now had been quiet and peaceful….until she noticed the distinct feeling of being followed. It was like a sixth sense of sort that some tanks had, and right now hers was tingling.

Quickly, she stopped and drove behind the nearest rock, until the feeling subsided. And then she waited. It didn't take too long until she heard a tank approaching. Peeking around the corner, she saw an oblivious Sturmpanzer II on the way to drive past her. Waiting for another moment, she leaped out of her cover just before the SPG could pass her, gun barrel trained dead center on the other vehicle's flank.

The Sturmpanzer came to a screeching halt.

"Don't move" Sky said calmly. One shot and the SPG would be dead. The Sturmpanzer listened to her command, not even twitching although she could hear the other's engine rev louder.

The Pershing continued. "What are you doing here? Why are you following me? "

A couple of seconds passed.

The Sturmpanzer was about to say something, when suddenly voices could be heard.

Sky turned around, looking at the source of the noise and saw another SPG as well as a Leichttraktor approach them – they didn't even seem like they had noticed them yet.

"Are these your fucking friends?" Sky asked harshly, but didn't realize that the Sturmpanzer couldn't even see them from her position. Nevertheless, she answered.

"I don't know them" she said, not recognizing the voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darkfyyre wrote an additional chapter about Sky's near-encounter with an enemy team that was mentioned in this chapter. You can read it [here](http://fridgemidgets.tumblr.com/post/81615104838)!


	6. Reunion

"And then you shoot them in the  _butt_!"

Noob was gesticulating wildly with his gun as he explained his superior battle tactics to his new friend. The Wespe looked mostly confused and just drove along without saying much. He wasn't really sure if all of that could be applied to him, being artillery and all. What he was wondering about most though was how familiar the scenery looked. He could have sworn that he had been here before.

Suddenly, the Leichttraktor stopped unexpectedly. It made Awol look ahead, and what he saw was terrible.  
Both of them screamed in unison and rushed for cover, suspensions quivering.

The Pershing wasn't completely certain what she had just witnessed. If those were supposed to be assaulters, they had to be the worst assaulters she had ever seen. As she turned back to the Sturmpanzer again, the SPG had turned around as well, - without her permission! – obviously more curious than she should be in her situation. Sky decided not to do anything about it for now. It didn't seem like the stranger was about to shoot her in the back.

"We're dead!" the Leichttraktor whispered to his friend, but Awol didn't even manage to say anything at all at first. Eventually he gulped out an almost hopeful "Do you think they've seen us?"  
"Well,  _duh_ …!" Noob whispered back. They were both hiding behind the same bush, making a good portion of their bodies stick out on either side.

"Hey, you goofs over there! I can hear you!" Sky called, and the two boys fell silent at once. The Pershing nudged the Sturmpanzer next to her, whispering, "Play along now."

Then she shouted again.  
"My friend the GW Tiger here is aiming right at you guys right now, so you better don't try anything stupid!"  
Arty felt charmed by the over-dramatization of her tier and raised her barrel menacingly.  
"A GW Tiger!" Awol cried out in desperation, as loud as a whisper allowed, causing him to sound hoarse.  
"A wha-" came the blissfully ignorant response, but it was cut short.

"Should I fake a shot?" the Sturmpanzer asked quietly.   
"Yes, do it" Sky responded; it sounded almost gleeful.  
And so she did. Missing on purpose, Arty made sure to aim far away from the actual position of the two unknown tanks. Two shrieks could be heard in response.  
"See that?" Sky announced, "That was just a warning shot! Next time she won't miss, I can guarantee that! Come out and surrender,  _now!_ "

"We should do what she says….!" Awol suggested, turning to look at his comrade, but said comrade was already getting into gear fast and rolled out of the bush, flattening it in the process. Now both of them were exposed and could only hope they wouldn't be killed.

Sky froze just at the same moment as Awol did. None of the other two tanks really knew what was going on as the Pershing sprinted towards her brother at once, everything around her forgotten for a moment.

"It's  _you!_ " she said and gave him a cannon hug, "You're alive!"

Awol looked down on himself, positively feeling alive. "Yeah" he mumbled. He felt a small pang of conscience somewhere in his engine as he was reminded of his escape. "I'm so sorry. I ran away." He knew exactly what the punishment for desertion was. Other than exile where you were simply ignored until you left, a traitor was considered the enemy and shot on sight. The rules in the world of tanks were strict and sometimes cruel, but they were necessary to ensure their discipline and survival.

"Don’t say that" the Pershing growled, "You shouldn't be sorry, you only did what you had to do to survive! I'd rather be the sister of a traitor than the sister of a dead tank! Now let's go home." The Wespe looked at the ground. He was happy that Sky wasn't mad, but that didn't mean that he could just return.   
"I don't think they'll let me go back." And after a small pause, he added, "Also I found a friend here."

"He means me!" Noob interjected, gun raised slightly in pride.  
Sky gave the Leichttraktor a long, scrutinizing glance, then looked at her brother again and nodded. "I see. Maybe we don't have to go back after all. I mean, most of our team's fucking gone anyway. We might as well form our own!"  
"I approve!" the Leichttraktor said, and the Wespe nodded with a smile. The Pershing turned her turret around and looked at Arty, who had been quiet the whole time.   
"What about you?" she asked the SPG. "Will you join us? If you don't, we'll have to kill ya, you know."

"I'll join you" the Sturmpanzer decided with her gun tilted. "But we have no base. We should go and find one, maybe there's some low tiers somewhere near."

"Sounds like a plan" the Pershing said, "Alright boys and girls, let's get a move on, then."

As they started driving down the road, Sky shooed away the Leichttraktor from her brother to talk to him for a moment.

"So how come that we are basically still following your tracks while you turned up behind us?" she asked, making the SPG give her a blank look. So  _that_ was the reason why everything here looked so familiar? He threw a side glance at his new friend; Noob was driving along merrily, not listening in to the conversation and obviously dwelling on his own thoughts.  
"We must have gone round in circles" Awol replied thoughtfully, then shrugged.


	7. Night Encounter

Night had fallen and the newly founded team had decided to take a break. The sky was clear and the moon full, a soft breeze making the grass and the tree leaves sway. Arty was standing guard, checking the surrounding area sporadically while they others rested. There was no one anywhere to be seen, which was good. Only some animals, but they were hardly a threat. They had chosen a spot where they were relatively covered, but still had a good overview on both directions of the road.

As the time for a change of guards had come, Sky drove over to the Sturmpanzer and poked her with her gun. The SPG flinched and was about to turn around, but the Pershing moved to her side.  
"So, any ideas how we should call ourselves?" Sky asked with a faint grin in her voice. Arty just shook her gun barrel. "Not really…I'm not good with names" she responded. The medium just gave a thoughtful "Hm" in response and then fell silent for a moment.  
"We'll have to find a base soon, we're all pretty fucking low on fuel" she growled then. Arty nodded her agreement, still watching the skies and the area. "There's none nearby. Not even tread tracks or anything. I don't think anyone's been here in a while" she concluded eventually. "A miracle wouldn't be too bad now. Otherwise things are looking dire."  
Sky slapped her in the side with her turret. "What's with that negative talk? You stop that right now. We'll find something, I'm sure."  
She earned a shrug. "It's just what I'm thinking. Is there a plan yet what we'll do if we don't make it?"  
All Arty got in return was a chiding glare. She shrugged again, this time giving an apologetic tank grin; then she turned to leave and let Sky do her guard duty.  
"Hey, you can stay if you want."  
Arty stopped. "That would be nice" she said with a smile and returned to her previous place. She wasn't really tired, so she didn't mind staying up longer. Her travel so far hadn't been really tiring - her engine was good and gave her no trouble at all when driving long distances.

There wasn't a lot to talk about, so a long time passed in silence.

The Sturmpanzer had almost nodded off when she suddenly noticed two tanks in the distance. She quickly nudged Sky. "Two heavies approaching, they probably followed our tracks" she reported and Sky nodded gravely as she turned around and got into a firing position just in case. The strangers weren't yet to be seen, but thanks to the SPG she knew the direction at least.  
"Can you tell me what models?" she asked the artillery, but Arty shook her barrel.  
"I don't know, it's hard to-…one of them's a King Tiger."

Sky tensed up. "That's a tier 8. I can take him on" she said with determination, although she wasn't completely sure. It also depended on what the other tank was. "Can you describe the other one?"  
Arty's gun swayed a little as she tried to concentrate.  
"Very rectangular. Rear-mounted turret. Most likely German…"

She didn't have to go on, because that was when the two tanks came into sight. Apparently they hadn't even noticed yet that they weren't alone.  
"That's a VK 45.02. Looks like Ausfuhrung B…astard. A tier 9. That's bad. Very bad" Sky said grimly. Arty would have hurried over to their team mates to wake them, but that would have taken too long right now, and in no way she wanted to catch the strangers' attention by shouting. It was also too late for running, too; the two heavies were coming closer and closer and would be able to see them every moment now.

"I hope your gun's loaded, because it looks like shit's about to get real" Sky whispered to the Sturmpanzer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to stay true to the game canon and kept the top-down SPG view as an ability artillery has in the Hummelverse. How does it work? We don't know. Sentient tanks.


	8. Rex and Fox

"Dat's wery unlikely iff you ask me" Rex mused, "You shot him rright in the fyuel tank, he shoold'f been dead." The VK nodded to himself, as if to confirm his own thought. His friend, the King Tiger just shrugged, not really offended by the fact that one of his shots hadn't been as effective as it should have been for once.

"It happ-"  
"Ja, aber-"  
"Rex."  
"Sorry. Id's just fishy."

Sky could hear the heavies' voices already, although it wasn't yet possible to make out individual words. The road made a small bend a little bit ahead, and that was probably their only chance to get a little advantage. The Pershing and Arty shared a quick glance, and they both nodded. There were some things that didn't have to be said out loud. The medium quickly reversed behind a line of rocks and foliage; just far enough to sneak a little to the side and take a decent run-up once the heavies would be distracted. She hoped of course that this wouldn't be necessary.

As predicted, the two strangers vanished behind the bend, and the Sturmpanzer made her way to the middle of the road to block their way. As they appeared in sight again, they were close enough to finally notice the SPG, and Sky was fully hidden – for now.  
Both the Tiger and the VK stopped, heavy suspension grinding to a slow halt. Arty felt like her engine wanted to jump out through her gun barrel. No one said anything as the high tiers turned their turrets, their guns pointing right at the SPG. Only the growling sound of their engines and the wind could be heard.

"….good evening, Gentlemen, enjoying your drive?" the Sturmpanzer said. Well, if she died right now, she might as well die with her last words being a cool one-liner. Except that she wondered if she shouldn't have come up with something wittier than that.

The two heavies hesitated.  
"Fochs, shoud we shoot her?" the VK asked, his voice wary.  
The addressed tank tilted his gun and swung the turret around to check the surrounding area for anything that looked suspicious.  
"It could be a twrick. Let's not take any rrisks" Rex continued as his companion didn't say anything.  
"Artillery, are you alone?" The King Tiger eventually asked, his gun trained at the SPG again.

The Sturmpanzer really didn't know how to answer. Should she claim that she was alone and risk being caught, or should she endanger the others by giving them away? Her treads were tense as she racked her mind about the answer to the question. The seconds passed in silence until the heavies had seen enough to decide that something was off here.

"Too long" Fox said and the distinct sound of two cannons being loaded could be heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I really wanted to have Arty say was "Hallo erstmal,........." but in the end I went with the current version instead. :P


	9. Showdown

" _Hey, asshole!"_  
There was gunfire as Sky burst out from behind her cover, shooting at the King Tiger's flank as she rushed past his heavy frame faster than he could turn his turret. He cried out in anger and pain, both him and his friend being too surprised to do much about the assault for a split second.

Rex fired, but missed as the Pershing swerved to the side, making a narrow turn and disappearing behind a rock.

"Leave this to me" Fox said to his friend, who didn't object but instead drove out of the way a little, his hull turning to face the threat while his turret turned toward the spot where he had seen the Sturmpanzer just a moment ago. But she was gone, the little brat. An explosion right in front of him made him jerk his gun out of the way. The SPG hadn't hit him, but he was still caught in the explosion. While it wasn't enough to penetrate his armor, there was still a nasty burning sensation and his glare darted across the surrounding area frantically as he looked for any sign of a tracer to see where the hell the Sturmpanzer had disappeared to.

Another shot tore through the night air and some of the rocks the Pershing had driven behind were turned to dust. But she was already rushing on, surprising Fox yet again as she approached on the same side she had before, defying his expectation. He stopped his turret mid-rotation to turn it to the other side instead, knowing however that his reload time would be too long to stop her in time before she would be able to pass him by again.

"You goddamn cowards!" Sky shouted as she drove by the Tiger and shot him another time, "Attacking a fucking tier 4? Really?"  
"Shut up!" Rex roared as the King Tiger remained silent to focus on taking aim instead of responding. The Pershing was making another turn, but this time he was prepared.

The noise had woken up the other two members of the team, and Awol and Noob quickly made their way to a position from where they could overlook what was going on.  
"Where did these come from?" Awol cried out, voice still a bit bleary from being woken up like this. He had to watch his sister getting hit by one of the King Tiger's shells, not wounding her mortally but blowing off a good portion of her turret armor as she attempted to zip by.  
"We must help them!" Noob said and rocked on his treads in agitation.  
"But how? They're ten times stronger than us!" the Wespe snapped, "They won't even feel it if we shoot them!" They had to get out of here, and fast, but he didn't even see Arty and attempting to escape would be a huge risk as well. The only solution he could think of would be to try to talk to the heavies and make them stop somehow, but considering how angry they looked, he wasn't sure if that was going to work. He wanted to share his plan with the Leichttraktor, but said Leichttraktor was already taking off to climb down the hill.

"Noob,  _wait!_ " the Wespe called after him, but to no avail.

The Leichttraktor knew that he stood no chance against the two strangers. He was scared as hell as he drove towards them from a dead angle, but even he knew that outnumbering the enemy increased the meager chances they had to survive this. And if he could distract them even for a second, it would maybe give them a small advantage. Maybe it would give Sky an opening to do some serious damage.  
Awol had had the same idea, but since driving after Noob would have been ludicrous, he decided that he had to go about this the arty way. He brought his gun in position.

There was still no sight of the Sturmpanzer, so the VK took it upon himself to ignore Fox' earlier command – as the Pershing was still struggling with regaining control after being hit, he took aim at her as well and shot her in the same spot his friend had.  
The shell hit her in the turret as well, knocking her unconscious. She skidded a few more meters before coming to an involuntary halt.  
"Good shot!" Fox said with a smile.


	10. Aftermath

Awol had been about to shoot, but froze when he saw how his sister wasn't moving anymore. " _SKY!_ " he screamed, but to no avail. The only thing he achieved was to catch the heavies' attention. They both turned to look upwards now and saw the SPG. It was a bit hard to tell from that angle which one exactly it was, but they weren't going to take any chances and their guns were reloading already.  
"Might be another Sturmpanzer" Fox suggested and Rex nodded.  
The Wespe quickly backed up, and Arty was finally ready to shoot again. She hit the Tiger's side, almost causing the suspension to break. Almost. Fox was about to turn towards the source of the damage, as it was obvious now which bush the SPG sat behind, when suddenly something hit his friend in the back.

In the spur of the moment, Noob hadn't known what else to do. He had just shot the VK, and it had probably been the worst idea ever, because instead of causing any damage at all, the shell had bounced with the most unimpressive 'ding' sound.  
Rex' turret turned around slowly, as he was obviously dumbfounded by how a direct hit could just fail to achieve anything at all like this one had just done. In fact it had barely hurt.  
He found himself staring at a mortified Leichttraktor.  
That was the moment when Fox lost it.  
"What are you guys supposed to be? The Hitlerjugend?" he laughed. Strangely enough, the laugh didn't sound mean; just very delighted. His friend joined in on his laughter, and Noob felt the immediate need to become one with the ground.

"Wee'rr not fiting a bunch of kids" Rex said, getting a little more serious again. "Wat are you doing heer? Is dis your base?"  
Both Arty and Awol dared to peek out of their hiding places, and the Wespe decided this might be the chance to talk he had hoped for.  
"We're sorry that we attacked you. We don't want any trouble, really! This isn't our base, but we need fuel. That's the reason why we are passing through here. If it's your territory we will try to leave as soon as we can" he explained from his elevated position, voice a bit shaky.  
"Wat about her?"Rex asked and waved his cannon at the Pershing.  
"She's my sister" Awol explained, "She was trying to protect us. We thought you were going to kill us."

The heavies looked at each other for a moment.  
"Fair enough" Fox said eventually. "We are on our way to Himmelsdorf. Our team camps there. Do you want to come with us? You obviously can't stay there, but I'm sure they'll give you a little fuel so you can continue your travel at least."

Awol felt a huge wave of relief wash over him, as did the rest of his team.

"That would be very generous of you. Thank you a lot for the offer." He hoped that they were sincere and wouldn't just take them apart on the way or once they had reached their destination. But they had to trust them for now. Actually, they did seem quite nice, despite their scary guns and appearance.

Everyone could finally leave their cover, and they woke up Sky to explain to her what they were going to do. She was wary at first, but eventually agreed and now six tanks started making their way to Himmelsdorf.

"Sorry about dat earlier" Rex said to the Pershing as he drove next to her. "We faught you were a hi tier teem with a misfitt Anhängsel."  
Sky didn't have to understand what the last word was to know the meaning, and she had to chuckle. There was an indignant " _Hey!_ " from Arty, who had heard that, but she took no real offense and just drove on.  
"It's alright." Sky responded. "Shit, I thought that was going to be the end of us."  
"Well, another shot from one of us and you would have been done for, that's for sure. I don't know if we wouldn't have let the rest of you go, though. There's no honor in slaughtering lambs" Fox threw in with a shrug, causing both the VK and the Pershing to nod.  
"I respect that" she said.

A bit further back, Noob and Awol were driving together. They were still a little shell-shocked, but tried to overcome it by chatting.

"Like I said, you shoot them in the butt. Always works, I told you."  
Awol couldn't help but giggle at that. He never would have thought that the Leichttraktor's tactic would ever find any practical use in such a situation and that wasn't destined to end in disaster in that case. Of course shooting a tank in the rear was always a good idea, but the way Noob had explained it last time, it had sounded like he exclusively used his tactic on tanks that were of much higher tier than himself.

"You were right" the SPG said with a smile.  
"Of course I was" the Leichttraktor replied with an audible grin.


	11. The Tanking League

They were still on their way to Himmelsdorf, slowly getting closer to their goal. After driving for the whole day, evening was once again approaching. The sun had already started to tint the sky red. They didn't advance very fast, but with two high tier heavies on their side, it at least didn't feel like they were constantly running from danger anymore.

"Wat are you guys for rreal dough?" Rex asked the Pershing casually, "You are fyew for a teem. And really missmatched."  
It happened that some lower tiers travelled with higher tiers, mostly when some of the tanks didn't progress as fast in tiering up as the others, but it often ended with those tanks getting left behind or being forced to leave eventually. If someone insisted on them staying, they became responsible for them and their shortcomings.

"We are a team. We just found each other and since we get along, we decided to travel as one" Sky said matter-of-factly.  
"So wat's your teem name den?"  
The Pershing stayed silent for a moment. She didn't really know. "We have none yet."  
"You could call yourselves the seal tanking league" Fox grinned.  
"Very fucking funny" the Pershing replied with a dark look. But actually, she kind of liked the sound of it. Minus the 'seal' part of course. "Leave out the seal and you can call us that" she said eventually.  
"I like the name" the Sturmpanzer added. "What do you guys think? Do you like it?" she shouted over her shoulder to the Wespe and the Leichttraktor, who were caught up in their own conversation.

"Totally!" Noob said cheerfully, then added, "What are we talking about?"  
Awol had become curious and gave the others ahead of him an interested look as well, but didn't say anything.  
Sky spun her turret around. "We're thinking about calling us the tanking league. Any objections?"  
"Sounds good to me!" Noob said in his seldom heard serious voice. The Wespe nodded as well. "It has a nice ring to it."

And therefore it was decided. From now on the team would call themselves the Tanking League. Little did they know that it would soon consist of many more tanks than just the four of them.


	12. Ambush

"We're almost there" Fox announced as the silhouettes of higher buildings came into sight. The Tanking League looked ahead, and a certain two of them immediately got a bad feeling in their metal guts. It wasn't like they didn't know about Himmelsdorf, but actually seeing it from up close or even being in it was always worse than just thinking or talking about it.

The bad feeling should turn out to be justified, because just as they were about to reach the outskirts, there was suddenly gunfire, and they scattered in alarm. Only three seconds after, another shot was fired, hitting the ground just in front Fox, who did his best to swerve out of the way, but still earned a scratch on his glacis plate.  
"What the hell!" Fox and Sky yelled in unison, but only the Tiger continued. "Why are you attacking?! It's us!"  
Somewhere behind the ruins of a building, a shadow zipped by, then another shot whistled past the heavy's turret, bouncing off luckily.  
All of them dove behind cover as fast as possible, and Sky shouted an agitated "Didn't you say we would be welcome? Because it doesn't fucking look like it!"

"Dhis isn't suppohsed to happen!" Rex intervened, "Dhe town belongs to us!" The VK fell silent as he had to duck away from another shot that had come from a completely different direction. Now the sound of tank engines coming to life could be heard in the distance, as well as warning shots fired into the air.  
The Tanking League as well as the heavies were loading their guns, since sitting around in confusion wasn't about to do any good, peeking out of cover and flinching back behind it when a shot just barely missed them. The SPGs couldn't do much, but the rest of them tried to spread out to make them less of an easy target. The descending sun had reached the skyline and shone at a blinding angle, making it even more difficult to figure out who was shooting at them and from where.

Finally, Fox got enough of a glimpse of their attacker to recognize him.  
"Nordic! Stop! It's me, Fox!" he shouted, and apparently this achieved something, as the hail of bullets suddenly stopped. A gun barrel appeared from behind one of the building corners.  
"Fox? Hmm, you changed" the addressed tank said, sounding notably unbothered by the fact that he had accidentally attacked someone he was supposed to know.

The King Tiger got less tense as he rolled towards the TD's position slowly. "We are back from the clan wars. We reached new tiers" he explained. "The VK 45 over there is Rex."  
Now, the rest of the Hellcat appeared from behind his cover and he glanced at the strangers that were trying to enter the town. Behind him the sound of his approaching team mates got louder.  
"But who's those other people?" he asked and nodded at what was visible of the tanking league – a grim looking Pershing rolling out from behind the wreck of a long destroyed tank, two SPGs who looked a bit intimidated, and a Leichttraktor that seemed to have no qualms about staring curiously now that the danger was apparently gone.

"We found them on our way back. They are lost and need to refuel."

A T29 appeared between the buildings, pushing an abandoned car out of the way. Other tanks started to appear as well, all guns pointed at the newcomers.  
"Fox! Rex! What's the meaning of this?" He drove up to the two heavies, who were now standing next to each other as the VK had caught up to his friend. The other four travelers had all come out and assembled, standing there in an awkward line like new recruits at the physical examination.

Nordic turned his turret to look at the T29. "Look what the cat's dragged in" he said with a cheerful cackle, obviously amused by the pun on his own vehicle type. "They returned and brought us low tiers."  
Eject ignored the interjection and instead waited for his heavy team mates to answer.  
"They are frriends" Rex said. "All they wont is some fyuel and a plaice to stay for dhe night."  
The T29 seemed to consider this new information for a moment. He looked at his team mates and got looks ranging from indifferent to clueless to disgruntled in return.

"We'll have to talk about this first. They can wait here outside until then" Eject eventually decided and the rest of his team nodded, only the Tiger and the VK looked a bit uncomfortable. But they weren't going to go against their own team.

"Go, we'll wait here" Sky said. Fox nodded and he and Rex followed their team mates back into the town to decide what to do about the strangers.


	13. Decision

On the way up the hill of the town – where the meeting would be held – Fox had taken it upon himself to tell Eject what they had been up to. All in all their participation in the clan wars hadn't gone too bad. Rex and he had had the chance to gather new experience and move up in tiers, making them stronger. They out-tiered a lot of the team's members now, immediately granting them additional respect, although the majority of something like that had to be earned.

"Where is Pepper?" Eject asked eventually. "He didn't get himself destroyed, did he?"  
"Oh no, not at all. Quite the opposite" Fox replied in a casual tone. "He said he wanted to stay for longer, that's why he didn't return with us." He shrugged and gave an almost sheepish smile. "Said he was SO close to tier 10. Said he still needed more time to perfect his aim."  
"That sounds like him."  
"You should have seen how he _detonated_ when we lost that battle for Airfield. People were afraid of even talking to him for a while."  
There was a knowing cannon-nod from Eject. "He'll come back, eventually, I'm sure." It would obviously be a huge advantage to have a Leopard 1 on their team. And by the time Pepper would be back, they would have hopefully caught on.

They eventually reached the top of the hill. Most of the others were already there and had started their own little conversations while waiting together. Joining the crowd, they overheard some of the chatter but didn't really pay much attention to it, since some of it was only small talk anyway.  
As the last tank arrived, they formed a loose circle. Before someone could even formally open the meeting however, a T-34 spoke up, sounding upset.  
"No way they can come!" he exclaimed, "We need all fuel, we cannot give."  
There were a few acknowledging nods in the crowd, and Fox felt compelled to speak up while Eject was just watching the scene thoughtfully.  
"They are low tiers. Most of them, anyway. They won't need a lot, and they might die before they can find another team that offers them fuel" the King Tiger said firmly. It seemed to make some of the attendants rethink their view on the matter, but the general opinion still seemed to be a rather negative, distrustful one.  
"If we give _them_ fuel, why don't we just go and open a fuel station? If we give to one team, the next step is giving to every team" the same G.W. Panther that had tried to cause trouble last time threw in. Eject frowned at such an obvious logical fallacy and intervened.

"That's ridiculous."

An AMX 13-75 in bright camo colors spoke up as well, defending the Panther. "She's right though! What's so special about these tanks that makes us obliged to feed them? They're just a team, like every other team. Just because you traveled with them for a bit and found them cute doesn't mean that the rest of us does."  
Rex decided that it was his time to say something. It bothered him to no end that not only he, but also his friend had become target of such snotty behavior.  
"Lissen up, _frriend_ " he hissed, "Hoo died to mayk you king?"  
The French light tank's engine growled menacingly in response. Or, it would have been menacing if it wasn't for the fact that its sound wasn't half as powerful as Rex'.  
Eject felt the mood of the whole team tilt towards a much more aggressive one. There had been tensions between the team members for a while now. They might have been strong, but there were problems that were starting to get harder and harder to ignore and it was starting to affect their performance as a whole. It was only a matter of time until someone was going to throw a fit and leave; that was for sure. Their only hope was that it was going to happen without unnecessary violence involved.

"It's no use to give fuel to outcasts who will most likely die soon anyway" another SPG said, his voice bare of all emotion as he did. A very uncomfortable medium decided to add his opinion directly afterwards.  
"Wouldn't you want the same to be done for you if you were starving? What if you guys got lost and couldn't conquer a base? You would hope that someone would share with you too, wouldn't you?" He immediately ducked as he was given some very dark looks, but some expressions turned a little guilty. Eject made sure to look at each of the tanks individually. As silence prevailed, Fox decided that it was time for one last attempt to convince his team. He drove forward a little to make sure he had everyone's attention.  
"I want to see even one of you step forward and say that you would want to be responsible for the death of four lost tanks who meant no harm to us but only asked for a little favor that would help them survive. Don't you think that they would return the hospitality? Does comradeship mean nothing at all anymore? They are not the enemy."  
The clan wars had shown him how important it was that sometimes different teams worked together, and that, contrary to popular belief, not all teams had to go against each other.

Eject's mind was made up, and he nodded in agreement. "The King Tiger is speaking the truth" he said, "Who else agrees with him?"

A lot of gun barrels rose. Not all of them, but the majority, and therefore it was decided. The meeting was over.  
As Eject turned around to join Rex and Fox in retrieving the waiting tanking league, he got one last glimpse of the G.W. Panther shooting them the darkest glare.


	14. Shelter

"I don't think they'll let us in" Awol said. "They're probably just waiting until we go away on our own." He hung his cannon, causing the Pershing to give him a concerned look. She was about to say something, but Noob beat her to it.  
"Nah, I think they will" he said with utter conviction. "You worry too much!"  
What he failed to mention was that he himself wasn't quite sure, but he didn't want to bring the rest of the team down any more.

Night had fallen and it had gotten dark between the buildings, so they had migrated to a slightly more illuminated area just outside the city that was dominated by train tracks. They had made sure to stay in the shadows just enough to not be seen from far away. No need to attract unwanted passer-byes.  
The mood was a rather gloomy one nevertheless. Arty had nodded off in the meantime, and what kept the rest of them awake was mostly hunger. Noob started pushing around a few small stones with his treads to fight the boredom while waiting, as no one said anything anymore. It was better than just sitting around and doing nothing.

After what felt like a couple of hours, an engine could be heard, and a heavy tank appeared in view. He drove down the street and followed the rails to where the tanking league had their provisory camp.  
As soon as he reached them, Eject gave the four tanks a pensive look. "You're allowed to stay for now. But try to keep a low profile, not everyone here is happy with that decision" he said and nodded towards the town. "I'll show you where the garages are."  
Relief was an understatement for what they felt now. Except for the Sturmpanzer, who only woke up when the others already started moving. She quickly caught on to what must have happened though, and hummed to herself cheerfully as she followed her team to the base.


	15. Eohelm

It felt good to not be low on fuel. The lamps inside Eject's open garage slot provided them with just enough light to make the small square in front of that particular garage block feel homelike. They were standing together in a small circle; Rex and Fox had joined and Eject had already been integrated – probably without being asked, but he also didn't object – into their patchwork group. The rest of Eject's team was either outside to guard the town, sleeping, or stood together with their own clique.

Shortly after the tanking league had been accepted into the town and after they had all refueled, a Centurion had approached them. The first impression they had gotten of him was loud music coming from his radio, but various yells from team mates had eventually made him turn that off, although not without yelling back at first.  
He had introduced himself as Eohelm, and was apparently the only other tank from his team willing to talk to them at all. And not only a bit.

Now, they were listening to the Centurion, and he actually had quite interesting stories to tell. No one even dared to interrupt him as he described historical battles and tanks none of them had even seen. Eject however was only half-listening, and he made it somewhat obvious. He already knew the stories, and even if he hadn't known them before already, he would have known them by now, considering how much his team mate talked about these things.

The Centurion was more or less the only one on their team who was  _that_  thorough with reviewing past battles over and over again, always on the lookout for new strategic insights. In the end, it was good of course, since it was useful to the team, but sometimes some of his team wished he would acquire these insights in silence.  
Eventually, he ended. He gave the little crowd curious looks. They were half expecting that he'd ask what they thought about his stories now, but got surprised as this was not the case.  
"So, what stories do you guys have to tell?" he asked, "I mean, you're quite an unusual bunch. I'm sure all of you have got a little tale to tell." The Centurion never said no to listening to interesting stories. After all, there could be useful things learned from them. Especially if they involved fighting, which tank stories always did.


	16. Stories

It was obvious that no one wanted to start talking, so Eohelm decided to give them a verbal nudge.

"What about you, Wespe?" he asked Awol, who immediately turned his gun to the side in startled embarrassment. Why was he picked, of all people? He still wasn't comfortable with telling his side of the story at all, and while Noob had simply never asked again, the Wespe was still at a loss of what to say right now – in front of everyone. He didn't want to seem impolite or like he was trying to hide something. Luckily, Sky had felt addressed as well and spoke up before he could start fumbling for words.  
"We are looking for a new home" she said plainly. There was a short moment of silence as everyone apparently expected to hear more, but nothing came.  
"That's all?" Eohelm asked eventually, speaking everyone's mind.  
The Pershing nodded sternly. "That's all."  
Despite the fact that everyone felt like there was more to the story – and Noob secretly wondered how that story fit in with what he had witnessed – no one was untactful enough to ask further. If they didn't want to talk about details, that was fine.

"And our other artillery?" Eohelm continued, looking at the Sturmpanzer instead now. She didn't answer immediately, feeling a little indignant. He could have said her type name too…It made her feel a little bit like an also-ran. But she didn't show it, out of fear of making a fool of herself or seeming vain. She raised her gun barrel a little, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say. She felt guilty and saw no point in trying to sugarcoat her crime now that she was asked so directly about it.  
"I killed a team mate." She noticed a couple of shocked, almost repulsed looks. It wasn't like they would now throw her out, and no one just jumped to conclusions about what exactly had happened, but it was still a trained response to be scandalized by something like this.

Sky was the first one to speak up. "How did that happen?" she asked, her voice neutral.  
Arty looked down. The fact that she hadn't wanted to kill one of her own team didn't make her feel better about the whole issue. "It was an accident" she mumbled. "I thought I was in danger." The other tanks' looks were still skeptical, obviously they expected more of an explanation. It wasn't like anyone felt threatened by the tier 4 SPG, and no one was trying to insinuate that she had had ill intentions - they were giving her a chance to explain and redeem herself. Something her old team hadn't done.  
"I…They were shooting me. It hurt and I wanted them to stop, but they didn't." A hint of bitterness and anger appeared in her voice as she continued. "They thought it was  _funny_." She looked up again, shifting backwards a little in an attempt to make her wish to be forgiven obvious. "I was sure that I was going to miss, but I hit him. Everyone heard it, and then they saw the wreck. They made me leave."  
It suddenly made more sense to Sky why she had been followed by a lonely artillery. Mavericks that travelled the land alone weren't unheard of, but if you weren't high tier and much stronger than the others you didn't survive long. That meant that the Sturmpanzer must have started following her almost immediately after she had been kicked out by her team.

"Sou I guess you don't want to rreturrn?" Rex asked, saying something for the first time in quite a while.  
Arty shook her cannon, giving everyone one last imploring look.  
"It's alright" the Centurion said with a nod, "This happens to the most loyal tanks. I've seen quite a lot of those cases, but like in yours, the team doesn't always take kindly to it. But you don't seem like one to just go and shoot us in our sleep to me, so it's fine. Let's not dwell on it any longer."  
There were a couple of nods, and the one who nodded the fiercest ended up being the next target of the question time.

"And you?" Eohelm asked, startling Noob as the Leichttraktor had completely forgotten that he was inevitably next in line. "Did you slaughter your whole team?"  
Noob said nothing for a moment, and then he replied, his voice so casual that everyone's jaw would have dropped if they had one.  
"Yep. Quite messy, I tell ya."  
"Y-You're joking" Awol gasped, causing the Leichttraktor to start laughing. Arty was about to join in, but apparently no one else found it very funny so she stayed silent.  
"Yeah" Noob eventually responded, still giggling. "Well, this is what happened: I'm a noob. Actually, not just  _a_  noob…I'm  _the_  Noob. I guess you could call me King of the Noobs. They left me behind because they thought I suck."

While it was still better than team mass murder, no one had really been prepared to hear this story either. Only Eject seemed unimpressed. "I can see why" he said, deadpan. Now that did make the Leichttraktor stop laughing, and he pouted.

"Hey!" he huffed "I can be good if I want…! I just…don't want to, okay."  
"Sure" Eject replied, obviously not believing any of it.

"I can show you!" Noob said, wiggling on his treads. "I can shoot a leaf from a hundred meters away!"  
"That's actually not a bad idea" Fox suddenly interjected, "While you're here, we could train with you a little."  
That got the others to shut up and look at the Tiger in surprise. He shrugged as everyone was suddenly looking at him. "I mean, if you're gonna continue your travel, it won't hurt if you get some practice first."  
Rex started chuckling. "Yes, we coud use somm tarrget practiss."  
Fox gave him a little shove for being so macabre, but couldn't help but grin as well.  
"I'd be up for that" Sky decided, "When do we start?"

The King Tiger angled his turret in thought. "Tomorrow sounds like a good time. They won't make you leave right away, I think, so we can squeeze in some training."  
Eject didn't share his thoughts on the matter, but Eohelm moved a little. He was feeling tired. "You'll have to do that without me, I guess" he said, "In any case I'm going to sleep now."  
They wished him a good night, and continued the banter without him for a bit longer before they eventually decided to rest as well.


	17. Exercise

Arty watched Noob zip around, and to be quite honest, it made her dizzy. Eject had told her to keep him in her sights, but that was hard to accomplish without having to constantly move her hull. Awol didn't seem to have such trouble, and she squinted at him with a bit of envy whenever she was pirouetting involuntarily yet again while all that moved on him was his gun. The task was to track the Leichttraktor's movements and shoot him with defused training ammunition, but that was easier said than done, since Noob had his own objective and therefore hardly stayed still for longer than a mere second.

Together with Sky, he had to outdrive Rex, who was chasing after him fiercely but kept falling behind just enough to never get a clear shot on the smaller German tank. Noob seemed to have a lot of fun, as he laughed whenever he dodged a shot or sneaked up behind Rex while the heavy tried to also take care of the much faster Pershing at the same time. Fighting her hadn't worked out so well for him the last time already, but here, where she had a lot more space to maneuver, she seemed to be even swifter, especially when she had a light tank help her. Not to mention that this time, Rex was alone and didn't have a team mate to work with.

Fox stood slightly away from the spectacle and overlooked it together with Eject.  
"They're doing quite well" the King Tiger mused, and Eject actually had to agree. He honestly hadn't expected them to be able to work together at all, considering how cobbled together they were.

Suddenly, Noob was hit. The shell landed on top of his turret with a loud 'THONK' sound and fell to the ground, rolling away. He froze and looked around. His gaze fell on the little hill where the two SPGs were standing.  
The rule was that he had to stop moving when he was hit, and so he did. How weird! He had made extra sure to stay on the move, and yet they got him. Oh well.

Arty gave the Wespe a baffled look. "Hey, good shot!" she applauded, making the other SPG turn away sheepishly. "He had this…pattern of sorts" Awol explained. "I watched him do the same maneuver three times in a row, and the fourth time, I fired."  
The Sturmpanzer tilted her cannon and looked back down on the pretend battlefield. "Now that you say it…" she mumbled, half to herself. After having it pointed out to her, she now realized it too, although it would have probably taken a couple of more repetitions of that particular movement until she would have been sure enough to shoot.

With one tank less to take care of, Rex now had all the time he needed to-

He took a hit to one of his vents – making it the three hits  _he_  was allowed to take - as the Pershing had suddenly changed her tactic and approached him head-on while he had still been looking at the taken out Leichttraktor. That concluded the current round.  
Eject shouted to make himself heard to the group. "Alright, it's Sky against me now, without artillery. First one to take three hits loses" he announced and drove over to where the Pershing was standing.


	18. Nordic

The G.W. Panther was furious. "Who do they think they are?" she hissed. The AMX 13-75 that almost always followed her around had to hop out of the way as her hull swung around; he had been standing in her blind spot. "They disappear for months, and then come back and think they make the decisions! And that Eject guy? I bet he was just waiting for a chance to play leader."

"Then why didn't you speak up when you had the chance?" came a very bored sounding reply from a nearby M40. He didn't even look into her direction. That made her fall silent for a moment, before her rage returned full force and she ranted on.  
"It's not about this case alone! It's the general state of things" she said with a growl. "When was the last time we did anything else than sit in this damn town and wait to rot? How can you condone that?" she asked the M40, who was still completely indifferent. His cannon moved about as he was seemingly checking something.  
"So what do you suggest?" he asked, "Why don't you go and start a revolution?"  
She gave him a wild glare. "You're one of those SPGs who like being told what to do, aren't you? Nothing but a gun on treads."

He stopped moving for a moment; then turned to face her instead.  
"Is this supposed to be a really cheap way of riling me up?" he asked. It still sounded emotionless, but there was almost something like a hint of irritation to it. "I don't need others to validate my pride. Maybe you should work on that too."  
The AMX seemed personally offended by this, because he suddenly jumped forward, finally leaving the Panther's close vicinity for once. "Don't you dare talking to her li-"  
He was immediately shut up as a shot tore up the ground right in front of him. The M40 turned away his smoking gun barrel to gaze at the skies again, leaving a rather intimidated light tank to return to his friend's side.

Nordic had been watching the scene for a while now, hidden between the urban canyons. He liked to keep tabs on everyone, and it had been quite predictable to him that the Panther would soon try to start something. It was probably impossible to change her mind on this. But he had other plans anyway.  
"You make some very good points" he said smoothly as he emerged from the shadows. "I too think that this team doesn't have much of a future – at least not if things stay the way they are."  
The Panther turned her turret to give the Hellcat a surprised look. She obviously hadn't been aware that she was being watched.  
"How much did you hear?" she asked in a tart tone. Nordic countered her glare with a charming smile. "Everything, Ma'am. And I fully agree. Our advances have been stagnating, and there is truly only one way to remedy this." He left the rest of the sentence unspoken, as surely everyone present knew what it was.  
"See!?" the Panther said, addressing the M40 again. "It's exactly what I was trying to tell you but what you are too blind to see!"

"Oh, for god's sake. I don't care" the SPG replied and turned to leave with an exasperated sigh. Nordic knew that someone like that wouldn't take part in a riot, not in a million years. And neither would he do something to stop it from breaking out. He watched the Panther glare after her fellow SPG, but she didn't do anything to keep him from leaving.  
"What an idiot!" the AMX squeaked, but only got an annoyed look from his artillery idol instead of any sign of appreciation.  
It was time for Nordic to take matters into his own hands….treads.  
"So what if I said that we should just go ahead and reclaim our rights by force… Are there others who share our sentiment? How many?" he asked and the Panther took a moment to confirm the numbers he knew already anyway.  
"Six or seven…maybe more."

It was also easy to figure out that most of the tanks in their team would just blindly follow whoever started acting like a leader. Should a fight break out, it was therefore safe to say that the side with the most convincing warmongers among them would outnumber the other one.  
The Hellcat nodded. "That sounds good. How fast could you get everyone to be ready for a coup?"

The Panther looked at her French companion for a moment, but she wasn't really going to ask for his opinion, only checking for any signs of hesitation.  
"If I talk to them tonight we should be able to attack in the early morning hours" she said, grim determination in her voice. Nordic knew that she would not cop out of this. If she would be able to gather her supporters that night, she would lead them into battle against her own team, and it would end in a massacre.

"So be it" he said quietly and excused himself. He had an important mission now – he had to warn the others.


	19. Revelations

They were taking a break from the training for now. Afterwards, they would decide if they wanted to continue, but for now everyone was content with just being lazy and letting the sun shine on their plating. Even the Leichttraktor had eventually let himself be convinced that they couldn't just go on and train for hours straight. Only Eject was on the move and patrolled the area, passing them by every once in a while. It was happening again, and Arty watched him thoughtfully; then she shuffled over to Rex.

" _He didn't let Awol and me participate a lot…Doesn't he like artillery?_ " she asked in German. The VK gave her a mildly surprised look – apparently he hadn't been aware that they spoke the same language since she hadn't used it before in his presence.  
" _That's not it_ " he replied while following Eject with looks as he passed by. " _He used to be a Hummel himself."_  
Now it was the Sturmpanzer's turn to look surprised.  _"I never would have guessed._ " A SPG converting to a heavy seemed incredibly outlandish to her.  
" _He doesn't really talk about it unless you ask. Even then, not a lot. Maybe something bad happened. I don't know. Not many people do, probably. In any case it was long ago and he mostly stays away from artillery now._ "

Arty stayed silent for a moment, considering this new information. She eventually turned to Rex again.  
" _Do you think he could teach me how to become a Grille?_ " she asked. Rex grinned and nudged her with his cannon. " _Why are you asking me? If you want his help, you'll have to ask him yourself. I don't know_."

Eject had been watching the area for any signs of suspicious activity. Luckily, things had been quiet lately – except for the appearance of the Tanking League. However, enemies could always attack, and they mostly did so at the most inconvenient times, so it was important that they always had at least one guard. When he noticed another tank however, it didn't come from outside the city. From Himmelsdorf's borders, he saw a Hellcat hurry towards him. He stopped and watched Nordic approach. Now he often saw the tank destroyer go places fast, but he hardly ever looked so much in a hurry like he was doing right now.

It had to be important, then. The T29 wasted no more time with staring around and instead met his team mate halfway. He couldn't even ask what was wrong before the Hellcat already blurted out his urgent news.

"Get Fox and Rex, we need to talk to them! Eohelm too. Something big's about to go down tonight and it's going to end in a bloodbath if we don't do something" he hissed breathlessly. The heavy didn't ask any questions and nodded immediately. "They're over there. I don't know where Eohelm is at the moment, though."  
"We'll find him. Let's go."


	20. Tate

_[Ensk.]_

The smell of oil was still fresh on them. The E25 drove ahead, made a sharp turn and returned to the others, only to rush forward again. His Jagdpanther friend played his game for a while and chased after him just to let himself fall back again a couple of times. Despite not joining in, the third of the pack - a Ferdinand - still watched with silent amusement. They were still pumped from their previous hunt. Raiding a town and extinguishing a whole team in the process wasn't something everyone could accomplish. But the three of them were operating exceptionally well together, to the point where they had started calling each other brothers.  
A blitz in the dead of the night, and Ensk had fallen. They had taken the fuel and enjoyed their stay for a bit; now they were following the train tracks to find their next prey. Other than a lot of other teams, they weren't interested in conquering and holding a base – all they wanted was a good hunt and the spoils.

"Hey Tate, what about Himmelsdorf?" the E25 asked the Ferdinand, who kept silent for a while. There was a chuckle from the Jagdpanther as he spoke up instead. "You're crazy! They haven't been defeated in ages!"

"Who's to say? If we do it in a not-stupid way we might get some fun" the E25 – his name was Siren – replied. "I'm not talking about killing them all, we could just play with them a little." The word 'play' had a special meaning for Siren. Even though Tate enjoyed hunting with his platoon mates, he didn't always appreciate the more cruel sides of the E25. To the Ferdinand, the purpose of the hunt was to kill. It was about efficiency and their own survival.  
Siren, on the other hand, only hunted for the thrill. He loved to spread terror and reveled in the pain and destruction he caused. The third brother, Fang, usually walked on the thin line between those two ideologies.  
Sometimes however, the E25's euphoria could be outright contagious, especially in the middle of a heated battle. Those were the moments when they were completely in tune and functioned as one.

"We could pop in, but I wouldn't take any risks" Tate said eventually and earned his platoon mates' cheers.


	21. Silence Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a character cheat sheet for those who are getting confused by now. [You can find it here!](http://s14.directupload.net/images/140508/8moitksl.jpg)

_[Himmelsdorf.]_

Eohelm paced up and down the burnt out building. "This is bad" he mumbled, pointing out the obvious. Planning a battle against another team was one thing – even if it had to be done when the attack had already started – but fighting an enemy within their own lines? That wasn't something that happened very often. Not to say that it hadn't happened before; but there was nothing predictable about it. No factors were for sure and they didn't even know whom they could count on, except for themselves.

"Those fucking-"  
Sky was cut off by a furious VK.  
" _Bastarde!_ Wie- How daehr dhey!" he snarled.  
Eject had fallen quiet and watched the Centurion drive about. The news were dire, but he had seen this day coming. It was too late to negotiate or avert the confrontation, but at least they had been granted until tonight to work out a plan to avoid their total annihilation. He wasn't sure what the G.W. Panther was even trying to achieve with this - other than acting out her frustration or some kind of god complex - because even if she should somehow win this, the team would have been decimated beyond a reasonable number.

Eohelm had ignored the interjections and went on. "We need to get the low tiers out of the town and hide them well until this is over."  
The Tanking League – except for Sky – had been told to wait outside and everyone agreed that it would be safer to not tell them the details of what was up to prevent any reckless efforts to help. Basically, it was none of their business so none of them was obligated to help, but the Himmelsdorf team had helped them, so Sky had decided that she was going to offer her help in return.  
"Who's on our side?" Fox asked.  
There was a moment of silence before Nordic rolled forward and spoke.  
"Us, obviously. But other than that, we can't know for sure. My fellow TD Axis seems like someone who might help us…but it's hard to tell with him and his moods. He might just decide to switch sides randomly in between, depending on who wins. I wouldn't count on our other heavy either. He doesn't care who he shoots, he just does what he's told, so the arty probably already won him over. And our M40 is probably on his way to an extended vacation right now."

There were a couple of stern nods from his team mates. They knew the others well enough to confirm those speculations.  
"What about our other tank destroyer?" It was another question from Fox. He had started to realize that things must have gotten a lot worse since they had left, and he knew that Rex thought the same as he gave him a brief look and their optics met.  
Nordic shook his cannon. "No chance. He's just been waiting for a chance to make something like this happen. I overheard him talk to the T34 – who's against us as well, obviously."  
There was a growl from Rex. "How!? He used to be a loyel soldjer!"  
The Hellcat just shrugged. "People change. You were gone for a long time. Things changed."  
Rex fell silent, but his disappointment was obvious. He was basically boiling; not only were his friends in danger, but that danger was their own team mates.  
"The Indien-Panzer will probably help us. He took a stand for you when we voted whether you could stay" Eohelm added, looking at Sky. "But I don't trust him enough to warn him beforehand. We will see how he reacts once the fight breaks out."

"That's seven tanks on our side. Not a majority, but we can still survive this if we can think of a good plan and execute it well" he continued and stopped pacing to stare into space in deep thought. "The most important thing is that we make them think that we are oblivious to what they have planned. When they attack, we must be ready and surprise them with counter-fire. If possible, we have to flank them while they are distracted. It would require some of us to stay where they are going to look first, but the rest of us will have to take positions so we can surround them."  
"We'll have to try and take out as many of them as possible in the initial strike. They'll most likely expect us to be in our garages when they attack, so I want you two there, Eject and Rex. I will be nearby to provide you with covering fire."  
"Nordic, you will cover the hill. I'm almost one-hundred percent sure that the Panther will sit up there. It's possible however that a tank destroyer is guarding her. In that case do not engage but let us worry about them. If you can't find her, send us a comm and Sky will search the rails next. Once she is taken care of, make sure to return to us and cover the east."

The Hellcat nodded.

"Once the fight has started, split up. Eject, you will cover the south together with Rex, while Sky and I will take care of the west. Nordic will push from the east, if possible. Be wary of their tank destroyers, try to take them out first. We will make sure their heavy is going nowhere. If we manage to push them towards the center square, Fox will be waiting there and block their escape route."  
The determined looks he got told him that none of them would even think about chickening out. Sky raised her gun.  
"Fuck yes. Let's give 'em hell, boys!"

Night was falling. The tanking league (except for Sky) had been escorted outside the town secretly. There had been protests, and they had demanded to know why they had to hide, but Sky had made it clear that they had to stay where they were no matter what. As they had seen how serious she was, they had eventually caved in and promised not to leave their hideout.  
The plan was to let the team-killers see that they were entering their garage slots to rest, and then sneak out again to take their agreed upon positions once no one was looking. If they hadn't known about the planned betrayal, they would have wondered about how busy the G.W. Panther seemed, prancing about as she probably made some last-minute preparations for the execution of  _her_  plan.  
Nordic was the only one who was able to approach her, which he did after everyone else had gone to rest. He had offered that he could keep watch to make sure no one left the town or did anything unexpected, but the Panther's ever-present sidekick - the AMX - had insisted to go instead. Nordic on the other hand was told to go to his garage and stay there until he would be given the signal.  
It was a shame. The idea had been to gain additional information about the details of how the attack was going to go down. But being more persistent about his wish could have jeopardized their operation, so he obliged.

He was also the first one to leave his garage after everything had gone quiet. No one was outside but him - and of course the AMX, but he seemed to take his guard duty seriously as he was nowhere to be seen. He made sure to make as little noise as possible as he knocked on the others' doors to tell them the air was clear. One after another, they came out and exchanged looks and nods, then went to hide at their positions. Only Rex and Eject stayed behind.  
The whole act had only taken a few minutes, and with the doors closed again, it was like it had never taken place at all.

The AMX 13-75 strolled through the nightly landscape. He was already giddy with excitement. At sunrise they would strike and eradicate those rotten bastards. Then the G.W. Panther would be leader and she would from then on choose their powerful and loyal new allies. And he, he would lead by her side. They would find a much better place than this filthy town, where no one would be able to take them on.  
All they had to do to make it happen was to get rid of their team mates.

Only a few hundred meters away, the tank destroyer pack was lying in wait. They were just as excited as the AMX was, but for completely different reasons. They had been observing the town throughout the whole day, on individual positions. They had figured out the structure of almost the whole team by now. And it was clear to them that something was about to go down. The team seemed uneasy, tanks had been gathering and talking, making it seem like those gatherings were held secretly.  
Normally, the night would be a good time for them to attack. But the platoon had decided to wait and see how this would develop. It was possible that the team thought about migrating to another base. If that happened, they would maybe get a good opportunity to strike. And even if something else happened…they were ready.

As an AMX passed them by not too far away and completely oblivious of their presence, Siren started getting twitchy.  
"Let's go and get him. Have a little interrogation. Find out what's up" he suggested with a sneer. There wasn't really any further persuasion needed.  
Only moments later, a quivering French light was surrounded by three tank destroyers.  
"What do you want from me?!" he said, pretending not to be afraid. It was pretty easy to figure out that he definitely  _was_ scared, though.  
Before one of his brothers could say anything, Tate spoke up, his voice quiet and calm.  
"We want to ask you a few questions. If you answer truthfully, we will let you go."  
The AMX somehow couldn't bring himself to believe that. "Why should I believe you? You're going to kill me anyway!" he replied defensively. That earned him a rough shove from the E25.  
"You're accusing our brother of being a liar, rat? Say that again and see what happens!"  
The light tank yelped and looked even more intimidated at once.

The E25 went on. "Tell us what you guys are up to, and we'll let  _you_  go. The rest of your team will have to die, of course. But if  _you_ lied to  _us_ , and we go in there to find something unexpected, we'll get the hell out of there and go after you instead. And trust me, we won't just  _shoot_ you. We'll make you  _suffer_."  
He had inched closer and closer to the light tank, causing said tank to freeze and gape in horror.  
"So, whose life do you value more? Theirs….or yours?"

The Ferdinand was simply watching. He didn't have to add anything, knowing that his brothers knew well how to get someone to talk without his help. There were no hard feelings against the light; this was nothing personal. But they wouldn't hesitate to destroy him if he didn't cooperate, since the last thing they wanted to do was rush into a heavily fortified town and meet their untimely end.  
The AMX stayed silent for a moment. He thought about their planned operation, and about the G.W. Panther. He adored her. All he had ever wanted was her attention, not to mention that he believed every word she said about her visions of a brighter future. He had thought that he'd follow her till death, but now, staring into the barrel of a gun, he suddenly found that he wasn't so sure about this anymore.

"What do you want to know?" he eventually asked, sounding defeated.

He told them everything. About their plans, about the attack that would take place in a few hours. As he ended, he looked even more crestfallen than before. Fang and Siren had found the story quite entertaining, as they had realized that this was going to be a perfect time to spread some havoc. Tate's mood however had gotten darker and darker the more he had heard. It wasn't because he was against their participation – he was actually wholeheartedly looking forward to it, but for other reasons than the possible kills they would be able to score.

The AMX asked if he was allowed to go now, but instead of answering, the Ferdinand shot him. That shot was enough to off the light, and two surprised looks fell on the tank destroyer.  
"Whoa, what was that for?" Fang asked in confusion. He wasn't used to such needlessly violent acts from his brother.  
"I hate traitors" the Ferdinand said with contempt in his voice, "And that one didn't even stop at that, he had to go ahead and betray his fellow traitors. Disgusting."

The other tank destroyers shared a look and Siren shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's](http://38.media.tumblr.com/bccee0ae95e7244bc2bbc76ff7161817/tumblr_ncduo7zIF91tsadyzo1_1280.jpg) a little visualization of Eohelm's plan. I'll provide more of those in the following chapter since things get a little confusing during the battle.


	22. Apocalypse Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy the new and improved version of this chapter! Thanks so much to [Eohelm](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Eohelm92/pseuds/Eohelm92) for editing this and making it awesome!

The dark blue was painted over with pale light and the sun had just begun to rise when the GW Panther left her garage. She stared at the slowly wakening horizon with a shine in her heart. Her time had come.

The rest were sleeping, and it was too early to hear the wildlife. She savored the moment with herself, then—using an agreed upon private frequency—she woke up her accomplices. After, she made way towards her position on the hill.

She wasn't stupid. When the fighting broke out they'd look for her here first, and she did not intend to stay any longer than necessary. If all went well no one would survive the initial assault; the GW Panther was nothing if not pragmatic.

When she was almost in position she received a comm from one of her teammates.

«The AMX isn't here. Should we start without him?»

This gave her pause. Was he still on guard? What if he'd bailed on them? She felt a small pang at the thought; a tightening of the chest, a momentary shortness of breath. Fear? Confusion? Frustration? She would not have expected to be angry at losing such a clingy waste, even at a time as  delicate as this. And yet, she was. She would have never expected that  _he_ of all people would betray her. She'd never been left before, especially not by someone so enamored with her.

Another comm arrived: «The goddamn Indien-Panzer is nowhere to be seen either. He was just here a moment ago. And Nordic, uhm...he's  _gone_ .»

More desertions.  _This deal is getting worse all the time._

The GW Panther gave an exasperated sigh. The plan was in danger of coming apart before they could even begin. After a moment's pause she didn't know what had hurt more: the idea that her patience and practicality might fail after all this time, or that it could fail because she—with her brilliance, strength, and beauty—was being  _abandoned_ .

_Better to execute this fiasco right away before more things can go wrong._

“ We have no time to wait. Begin the attack.” she said. Her voice was ice.

  
***

Down at the garages, the T34 grinned at the T-150.

"Looking forward to quick fight?" he asked, but one of the tank destroyers—Axis—spoke before anyone else could get a word in. He was bitter, and it came through in his voice. The current situation did not sit well with him. He expected this dissention to see its way through in an honourable fashion.

"It's no fight, it's a  _slaughter_ . At least show some decency and call it such."

The other tank destroyer, an AT-15A, took the interruption as cue to speak. "Loosen up a bit man. How about we stop talking and start shooting?"

An impatient comm from the GW Panther—“Yes, get going you  _fools_ . Before they  _wake up_ .”—supported his words, and the T34 shrugged before opening fire on one of the sleeping garages.

The blast of his cannon echoed through the quiet early morning of Himmelsdorf, the first shot fired with intent to harm. It was a mighty roar, a declaration of war, and it sent the wildlife running in shock.

The garage door caved in and fell off its threshold with the force of the massive shell, but there was no one within to receive the round.

“ _What?”_ he roared, and his teammates opened fire on other doors in a cacophony of explosions and death. Rooms caved in and dust flew everywhere with the force and residual fire.

None of the garages were occupied.

“Something is _wrong._ ” Axis' voice was wrought with uncertainty as he reported to the GW Panther. Before she could respond, other vehicles made their way to—previously un-used—rooms to check on them, and before they arrived two of the yet unopened doors burst open with the pressure of firing cannons. Axis detonated under an unexpected barrage of gunfire.

There was a massive  _crunch_ and the sound of screeching metal as the T-150 was hit from the side. He spun around, but an attacker was nowhere to be seen. He started heading into the direction the shot had come from without warning or thought while his accomplices scattered in an attempt to get out of the—as yet unknown and unpredicted—line of fire, shooting at the two heavies that had suddenly smashed through opposing walls.

***

“Team, Eohelm. It's begun, get ready!” Eohelm commed his part of the team. Everyone left their respective hideouts in a mad dash to take their position, ready to fire. The Centurion was worried. The best maneuvers take time to practice. _Drill right, fight right_. But there was no drill here. No practice. Just hope and trust that they'd all do their jobs.

There was an incoming report from Eject.

«Eohelm, Eject. Axis confirmed dead; T-150 heading for your position. AT-15A going for H4. T34 going J6-H7, over!»

Nordic added what he had found out as well.

«Eohelm, Nordic. Can't see anything but I heard someone pass by, must have been the Panther. Over.»

Eohelm quickly checked the mentioned coordinates against his map and groaned in frustration. He wished that they were smarter. Instead they scattered in different directions. A pure response to fear. It was like playing chess with someone who didn't know the rules—they just moved their pieces and hoped for the best. It couldn't be properly planned for. Despite this, nothing was lost yet.

“Team, Eohlem. Sky: lead T-150 away and intercept AT 15A. Eject and Rex: keep driving them towards us. Fox: try to catch the T34. I will flank the T-150. Nordic: all the TDs were here, which means the Panther is alone. Kill her.”

They confirmed the orders and Sky nodded at the Centurion. They could already see the T-150 approaching, and Eohelm retreated to keep hidden until the time was right. Sky moved to where the heavy would be able to see her clearly.

"Come and get me, you treacherous fuckhead!" she yelled at him. Her reply was some foul words and a poorly-aimed shell.

She left, as it was time to do her part with the enemy TD. She turned to the side and sped off while Eohelm waited.

***

Nordic raced up the hill, cautious for obstacles. His armor wasn't thick at all, so it was a good idea to be careful about diving headlong into unknown territory.

The Panther must have figured out by now that he was not on her side, and this time he didn't intend to have a talk with her about the finer points of loyalty.

In retrospect, she likely wouldn't be in the mood for words either.

***

_A riot. how ridiculous._

The M40 had never been able to relate to the Panther's whims. She seemed to be a creature of Id, acting on her will at the time. Lust, power, anger, it didn't ever matter to her.

It was absolutely idiotic in his opinion to start a fight over something like this. He was having none of it. He was leaving, and he felt no remorse about it. Leaving all of this foolishness behind and never returning.

All he ever wanted was some peace and quiet. When a team cannibalized itself, it was not a good place to be. Even if some of them should survive the entire fiasco, it was only a matter of time until they started arguing again and the vicious drama repeated itself.

Anger begot more anger. Conflict, more conflict. And this was a team destined for much conflict.

The SPG was slowly making his way out of the town, reaching the borders. Was it a good idea to just wander off alone? He tried to think about it, find some argument that would cause him to turn back and find shelter to wait out the storm. But, upon reflection, he couldn't care. There was too much stress, too much death in this team's present and future.

Maybe he would find a better place. A more peaceful place, somewhere else.

As he drove out into the open field, the sun was becoming more visible in its rise. The dark blue of the early morning was brightening and the land around was becoming more visible. The sun was almost too bright to look at, but he could have sworn that there were dark silhouettes looming ahead under it. Bushes? Vehicles?

No matter. Soon he would be out of here, ready for a fresh start. Peace. He went on, undeterred.

A moment later there was a  _crack_ to end worlds. He was hit by a shell and caught fire, crying out in agony. He was hopeless and alone and his last concious thought was how he should have just hidden himself. Then all he knew was fire and death. The fire yanked the air out of him, and he lost the ability to scream.

His last impression before his ammunition cooked off was three machines barreling past him.

***

The GW Panther's world had become one of disappointment. She held the responsibility of overseeing the disaster that was unfolding before her sights. It was not a task that she was relishing.

One of them—Nordic, maybe that pathetic tagalong AMX?—had told the others about the planned assault. It was clear that the other half of the team had  _known_ . One of them was coordinating the resistance. There was no coincidence here.

“T-150 you _idiot_ , you're running straight into a trap! Watch your left!” The Panther barked into her radio.

She received a confused «Huh?» in response. What a useless box of scrap metal. He only  _just_ seemed to understand what she wanted him to do and didn't follow the Pershing brainlessly any longer.

“AT, stop running! Fox is going after the T34 towards H6, attack him from the north!”

«Gotcha.» the AT 15A responded and—much to the Panther's relief—made a sharp turn to follow her order.

Maybe this would sort itself out after all.

***

Eohelm realized that the Panther was under control and coordinating her team when the T-150 was looking straight at him as he came around the corner. Right now, she had the upper hand.

He bounced a hasty shot— _now is not the time for this!_ — and made a 180° turn to start running towards the rails. He knew he could handle the heavy by himself, but he would come out of the fight wounded—and it might take too long. Personal glory was  _not_ the way to win battles.

“Sky, Eohelm. The T-150 found me and is in pursuit. Return and hit his back, over.”

«What about the AT, over?» she asked as she looked for a point in the road to turn around.

“Sky, Eohelm. Rex will kill him. Rex, Eohelm. Do you copy, over?”

***

“Eohelm, Rex. Copy. In pursuit. Out.”

The VK gave Eject a quick glance to make sure he'd be okay on his own before heading off. The did not like operating alone, but they'd make it work.

***

Sky turned the moment the road widened enough, tracks screeching as she skidded to the side before accelerating to full speed in pursuit of the heavy. She hoped that Rex would make it in time before the tank destroyer would cause Fox some serious trouble.

This operation was not going great, but she didn't feel that things were out of balance quite yet.

***

The King Tiger suddenly spoke up.

«Eohelm, Fox. T34 was too fast, missed him. He's gone around the bend, for G6. Should I pursue, over?» he asked in a rushed tone.

Eohelm sounded frustrated as he responded.

“Fox, Eohelm. Negative! Watch out for the TD, he'll be behind you soon! Eject, you go after the medium instead!”

There was a simultaneous «Understood!» from both vehicles.

As soon as he closed comm, he cursed. Failures in the details were to be expected and planned for. He had been trained better than this. The Centurion only hoped that his last-moment changes would do the job.

Planning would be much easier if he weren't focusing on his own fight.

The heavy behind him was about to finish reloading. Eohelm broke through the fence that divided the rails from the rest of the town, swerving to the side to bring the wagons between him and the other's cannon. It was all about cover placement. Dance around the enemy, swing yourself about to give him sudden angles when you thought he would fire, and pick your shots with care. That was the way to kill.

“Nordic, Eohelm. _Report_. ”

The Hellcat was not answering.

***

The Panther had been waiting for him, gun trained the moment he had reached the hilltop.

Nordic saw the shot coming the moment he fully crested.  _Oh, you clever bitch_ .

He saw the shot coming, turned, and tried to drive away. But it was too late. There was massive roar, his engine took a hit, and something ruptured. Armor flew about in shattered pieces. The air behind him was subject to massive fragmentation, and for a moment his world was pain.

A glancing blow, but high-explosive shells that large didn't  _need_ to hit directly.

The blast was enough to throw him a few meters back, out of the line of sight. Nordic's engine—what was left—stalled, and he felt like he was about to faint. He knew that he would be dead for sure if the GW Panther decided to follow him, if he didn't find a very good hiding place  _right fucking now_ .

He heard garbled pieces of Eohelm calling him through the radio, but couldn't focus enough to respond. All his effort was in keeping his shattered machinery together. Had to get moving.  _Somehow_ . 

There was a door to his left, and he somehow managed to drive right to it with the last bit of momentum he had left, holing up there and trying to stay awake.

***

Fox couldn't hear or see the approaching tank destroyer yet. He already drove halfway towards the junction, so he turned his hull around and angled in preparation of the conflict to come. He only had to hold out until Rex would arrive.

The only thing that he was worried about was that the T34 could decide to return—the vehicle had a small gun, but a monkey wrench was a monkey wrench—but that was unlikely. They would go looking for him once this tank destroyer was taken care of.

***

“T34 is movingh into sentrel square” Rex said as he entered the lane and got a brief glimpse at the medium's rear. That _Mistkerl_ kept slipping away but he was only delaying the inevitable.

Something else appeared in his reticle. The AT was only visible for a moment, shooting around the corner, turning his back to the VK as he didn't notice him, then disappearing to the right. But Fox was already waiting there and Rex heard a cannon—but no explosion.

Whatever Fox had hit, it apparently hadn't taken much damage. The AT came back into view, as he had obviously changed his mind and was seemingly headed for the central square. Then, instead of following his comrade the T34, he turned left and drove down the lane.

The King Tiger and the VK didn't even have to exchange any words, taking up pursuit at once.

***

Eohelm was driving erratically to deny the heavy a clear shot. It was a stalling tactic—good for angling against the enemy's gun, but it would not work forever. He fired a shell that slammed through the front plate, but the T-150 simply ignored it.

A berserker. This would be a problem.

There was still no response from Nordic, and that didn't bode well. A moment ago, Eohelm had told Eject to forget about the medium and go looking for the Hellcat instead. This plan was full of so many in-the-moment changes that he was amazed it was all holding together. Despite the poor situation of Nordic, they were winning.

Sky had caught up and fired a round into the T-150's back. He didn't seem bothered by it as he single-mindedly continued chasing his target. Eohelm tried contacting Nordic. Again his attempts were fruitless.

There was a roar as the heavy shot again, and this time the shell hit its target. The smack was immensely painful, but the pain didn't matter. The shell slammed through the Centurion's radio, effectively putting it out of commission.

He quickly drove behind one of the wagons and prepared to turn around and rush back past the T-150 to let Sky know. She was going to be his radio now.

***

Nordic had been trying to reach the Centurion just as desperately. The words refused to form, producing only static. After strong effort he managed to send a slightly coherent message for the tactician—but he didn't know that Eohelm's radio was not online.

“Eo—…engine hit…..really dizzy—”

That small amount had taken an overwhelming amount of effort, and he waited for an answer that never came. He had no idea what was going on, but it was unsettling. Dying alone was Nordic's worst fear, and it seemed that dying alone was his fate. He wanted to weep, but didn't have the energy.

He tried to shake his turret to make his vision less blurry. It didn't help; all he achieved was making himself more light-headed.

“ _Eohelm_ ….?” he tried again, but there was still no response. Preserving what was left of his strength, the Hellcat didn't make any further attempts.

_Someone please find me..._

***

Eject was going as fast as he could. The going was tedious. Heavies weren't meant for fast rescue missions; he was hurrying as much as possible but if Nordic was in immediate danger there wasn't much to be done. It would be too late.

He drove down the lane and reached the big junction. Once he would have passed it, he would reach the second, smaller one, after which the road would start going up the hill. Nordic was probably somewhere there. Not far now. Maybe he'd make it after all.

Before he could leave the junction, a tank appeared and blocked his way. Eject recognized the Indien-Panzer at once. Judging by the medium's grim look, he certainly hadn't come out to help.

"Get out of the way" Eject said, pointing his cannon at the other tank menacingly. He felt the action as a symbol of just how poorly things had gone. Not in this battle, but for this team.

Eject knew that the Indien-Panzer wasn't opposing him out of ill will. If anything, he was probably mislead. That didn't change the Panzer's responsibility in the situation. His actions had made him—once a dear friend, a  _brother—_ the enemy.

"No!" the Indien-Panzer replied with much less determination than he probably had intended to put into his voice. He was frightened. Meeting a heavy with Eject's reputation among the team in the middle of a road? Eject couldn't blame his fear. "I can't let you pass through here!"

There was a quiet moment between the two. Neither wanted to shoot, but they both knew that the other would.

"Why?" the T29 asked. “Why are you doing this?”

The medium's expression turned sorrowful. He seemed to gather all the courage that was left in him as he turned his turret sideways.

"I have nothing against you, Eject. I won't try to hurt you. But you have to understand—with you in it, our team has no future. The deed is already done! You have to kill me if you want to get past me."

***

The GW Panther knew that she had to find another position  _now_ . She had managed to fend off the Hellcat, but she was sure that he'd soon be back with friends. She was unaware of the damage she had done, believing that her explosive near-miss had gone low and slammed into the road.

She made her way towards the other side of the desolate castle, but stopped when she turned the corner. At the ridge, a gun barrel had appeared, and soon the rest of the tank destroyer's hull followed. The Panther froze. Her gun was still reloading.

She had known fear before. Before every battle there was fear. But she never knew  _this_ , the fear of putting her life on the line directly. Her team had always kept her protected before. She had lived through the Artillery Purge, but she had done so with a family that had had back. She never felt her vents constrict like this. Her breath gone so short. The vehicle that had crested was so  _small_ , but it would kill her. She knew it.

The E25 finished climbing, took a moment, and stared directly at her.

"Oh, you must be the SPG the little AMX was talking about…" he said ominously. It took the Panther a moment to connect the dots.

"What did you do to him?!" she asked, and the response was a cruel chuckle.

"Well, what do you think I did?" he responded, neglecting to mention that it was his brother who had killed the light. The little monster was having too much fun.

The SPG kept silent for a moment before she spoke again. When she did, there was a tremble to her voice, so faint that it was barely noticeable.

"Who are you?"

Siren started laughing maniacally. " _I'm your end_ !" he screamed, and lunged at her. The GW Panther wasted no more time. She turned around and drove off as fast as her treads would carry her. Behind her, the tank destroyer whooped cheerfully. He hadn't begun chasing yet. He had the time. He had the speed. And the inevitability to being run down like that frightened her more than anything else.

" _Run, arty! RUN!_ "

***

Despite how grim the situation was, Rex found that he was quite enjoying himself. He retreated just enough and just in time to evade a shot from the AT 15A. With the rear-mounted turret, this was a little tricky, but luckily Rex was good. Rubble from a collapsed wall hid his hull, so all he had to do was rock back and forth to look around the corner and shoot what was visible of the TD at the time.

Fox was just across the road, trying to draw in the AT's fire as he inched closer, moving from cover to cover. Their traitor teammate was obviously having trouble deciding who he should rather shoot—the heavy that was slowly tearing down the corner he was hiding behind, or the one that was creeping closer and closer to his position. The base of fire or the assault element? Trying to keep both under his control was causing the AT to panic.

Something must have happened to the Panther, because she had stopped giving orders. It was the worst possible thing, as it left the rest of her team disoriented and confused.

Eohelm wasn't issuing new commands either, but Rex and Fox knew that their team had the momentum—they weren't bothered by the command silence. This fight was now a game of cat-and-mouse, and the two assumed that they had all the time in the world.

"I wannt dhe kill" Rex said out loud.

"But you got the last one" was the matter-of-fact reply from Fox.

The TD got even more nervous. A shot grazed his cannon, almost breaking it.

"Ja, but dhat was ayges ago!"

"One week, Rex.  _One week_ ."

Instead of answering, the VK cursed as his turret took a hit while he was busy arguing.

" _PISSER!_ " he roared, and his next shell  _did_ break the tank destroyer's cannon.

The AT backed up; with a shattered barrel he was already dead. Rex moved out from his cover—it was not necessary anymore—and tried to push the King Tiger to the side as both of them wanted the doomed tank destroyer.

"He's  _mein!_ " Rex growled, trying to shove the other's cannon away from a direct line of fire, while Fox attempted the same. Both of them balancing this makeshift sword fight while also trying to keep their own weapons on-target was difficult.

"No! I saw him  _first_ !" the King Tiger argued. Metal screeched against metal as they made their way towards the AT at an awkward crawl.

He had stopped running. The brawl between the T-150 and the other two vehicles had gone to shit, his commander wasn't on comm, the T34 was nowhere to be seen, and the Indien-Panzer was too busy weeping in the road. The AT knew his end was inevitable. He just hadn't expected to die like this, with two bickering heavies scrambling and wrestling to act as executioners.

Finally, two shots were fired at the same time.

Fox' shell missed the TD by a small margin. Rex hit the mark and killed him. There was no explosion, and the AT's sudden shriek was cut short by the mass of metal and oil that blew out the back of his chassis with the tumbling shell

Rex did not let the horror of the AT's scream bother him, releasing a triumphant "HA!"

The Tiger grumbled something to himself before asking, "How many is it by now?"

Rex gave him a mischievous grin. "A thousand."

His friend moved his cannon in a small arc, an action of sarcastic acceptance. A physical  _of course_ .

"That's why you were so keen on that one."

Rex didn't have to answer verbally. He couldn't imagine a more notable occasion for his thousandth kill.

***

"Don't be stupid" Eject said, not moving his gun barrel an inch. "This isn't worth dying for. You fell for a pack of  _lies_ . It's not about some big charitable  _goal_ , it's about selfishness and power. You are being  _used_ . It couldn't possibly work and it's not  _going_ to work the way you imagined it. You  _know_ that, you just don't want to admit it. And now you're about to throw your life away for it."

Of all tanks, Eject would have thought that the medium would know better than to join this lunatic crusade. He had always seemed more  _sensible_ . The Indien-Panzer gave him a sad look, his voice shaky as he poured out his heart to the T29.

"She promised us victories and freedom! She said that if she was leader, we'd grow much stronger and  _conquer_ . She said that we'd never have to be hungry or afraid anymore. She said that you guys are the only thing that is standing between us and all it." Judging by the tone of his voice, it seemed to dawn on him now how false and grand those promises were.

A team that had been reduced to less than half its size had no real chance for survival on its own. The house of cards was collapsing right before his eyes before it had even been completed. Eject saw his chance.

"You don't have to do this" he said calmly. "It's  _not_ too late to turn back. I can't promise you any of the things she did, but I know that you are not a bad person and I  _can_ promise that you'll be forgiven. No one will call you a traitor or a team killer. Fight with us instead and we'll end this madness  _together._ "

The medium gave Eject another remorseful look. "I'm sorry."

He was too far gone. Eject didn't have time to try any longer. His teammate wanted his imaginary better world to be real so much—but now as he couldn't deny anymore that the future wouldn't be that way, he would rather go down with this dream than face the truth.

Eject sighed, a contemptable action that stopped him from weeping. He was about to clamp his emotions down and fire, but the medium was suddenly hit in the side by a grey tank destroyer. Metal shrieked, bent, and gave way under the impact. The tank was pushed against the nearest wall by and crushed. The building came down on top of what was left. The sudden shock of the action was so great that he didn't have time to scream.

Eject was so caught off guard by it that he didn't think to fire. The death of his brother—so sudden and cruel—had terrified him, and he didn't know how to respond. He stared at the smahsed building in shock, almost praying that the Indien-Panzer would come out of his makeshift grave.

There was a low chuckle from the Jadgpanther that had just rammed him as he reversed and faced the T29. Torn and bent pieces of metal were stuck in the tank destroyers glacis, some of them falling out as the destroyed medium's fuel and oil dripped off it.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't mean to make such a mess" he said. Like many SPGs, tank destroyers were somewhat limited in their expressions. They usually made up for it with their vocal tones. This one's voice made it clear that he wasn't sorry at all.

The words and cruel tone shook him out of his shock. Eject shot him, his massive cannon throwing dust and lose bricks all along the alley with the force of the shell charge. He was upset that he had even given the Jadgpanther enough time to speak before firing. Those who were paralyzed by the death of another tank were always the first ones to join them.

The shot tore through the tank destroyer's armor and the Jagdpanther let out a pained scream before quickly starting to move, vanishing behind a corner.

It pained him to do so, but Eject placed Nordic aside. If there was a new force in the fight, it needed to be identified and dealt with. His talk with the Indien-Panzer had taken up so much time that any hope of getting to the tank in time had quickly gone away. The Hellcat was dead, and he would be too if he didn't pay attention to this new development.

He started hurrying down the lane southwards in hopes of being able to circle the new enemy. He stopped at the intersection corner, glancing around as best he could with angled armor. He was right to do so, as there was another tank destroyer lying in wait. Those weren't from his team, so what the hell were they doing here?

***

"Sky! My radio is broken! You must tell the others!"

Eohelm had to stop for a moment to avoid getting shot once more. He had taken a couple more hits in his attempts to get around the T-150, but he was still in a much better shape than his enemy.

The two tanks were circling the heavy now, but he was undeterred by this—as well as the growing number of holes in his chassis—and seemed intent on taking out the Centurion first.

The Pershing was on the opposite side of the tank, between them, pumping shot after shot into the T-150. The vehicle was ignoring her. As all three of them were moving it was difficult to aim properly, but not impossible.

Despite the fact that almost every shell penetrated the armor—he was starting to resemble a piece of Swiss cheese—he simply refused to die. Everyone had heard of berserkers, but this was getting ridiculous. It was obvious though that he wouldn't make it much longer, as his movements and reload were getting noticeably slower.

"Gotcha!" she replied as one of her shots just completely went through the heavy and almost wounded the Centurion, but luckily the shot bounced off the other medium's angles. That shot finally seemed to be effective, slowing the T-150 down even further. He started reeling and his next shot missed Eohelm by far. The Centurion plugged another round into the heavy's engine block.

“Guys, listen the fuck up! Eohelm's radio is FUBAR and we need everyone's status!”

Her comrade grimaced at her radio language. The Centurion figured that any lecture on proper communication could wait until after the battle.

***

Eject slowly reversed and took cover inside the skeletal remains of one of the buildings' frameworks. He couldn't go any further, but he also didn't want to wait until the Jagdpanther decided to come back and attempt another kill. What he wanted even less was the two tank destroyers coming at him from opposite directions.

“Eject here. I'm at H7. Ferdinand at H6, Jagdpanther at H8. I don't know where they came from, but they just killed the Indien-Panzer and tried to kill me. I could _really_ use some help here.”

***

Fox and Rex had managed to finally untangle their cannons. They both figured the T34 was hidden somewhere in or around the central square. The idea had been that they'd both go there and look for him, but now it seemed that one of them would stay behind and assist Eject.

“AT is dead, we were going to pursue the T34 next…” Fox said. In fact they were already on the way down the lane to the west entrance of the square.

***

Sky relayed the messages to the Centurion. The T-150 had finally stopped, engine stalling. His turret slowly moved to aim another shot at Eohelm—making a sickly grinding noise—but both of the mediums kept shooting until nothing moved at all anymore.

Sky stared at the wreck, mildly disturbed by how sturdy this tank had been. Some were very gifted.

The Centurion moved over to Sky, thinking for a moment about the situation before he gave new orders. Only the GW Panther and the T34 were left, which was good, but the fact that strangers had appeared as well and had nailed down Eject was concerning. He was so close to having this clusterfuck pinned down, but new issues were arising with each moment.

“One of you has to go back and assist Eject; are there any news on what happened to Nordic?” Sky broadcasted the other medium's message to the team.

«Negative» Eject answered, and after a moment Fox responded as well.

«I'm on my way.»

***

Fuel was coating the ground underneath him. Among his tattered remnants of an engine block must have been a cut fuel line, as the gasoline was leaking out freely. The Hellcat kept slipping in and out of consciousness, vents heaving.

Had to stay awake…had to complete the mission…

He noticed noise, dull and muted. Far away. It seemed to approach quickly…was that laughter? He was probably imagining things, but rolled forward as much as he could manage to look around the corner.

Seeing only stars at first, he then recognized the unmistakable chassis of the GW Panther speeding towards his position. It wasn't her who was laughing. Didn't matter. He knew that he wouldn't get another chance if he didn't use this one to kill her. He smiled, coughing up gas through his engine block.

His gun was still working.

With great difficulty he aligned his turret, his cannon focusing on the spot where she would pass him by in a moment.

As a flash of grey and brown flew past him, he fired. If he could have done so, he'd have screamed in frustration. He missed the Panther.

But something else was hit.

Siren—true to his name—screeched as, out of nowhere, a shell hit and tore through his tracks and suspension. He lost control of where he was going and could not manage to take the bend ahead of him, crashing into the buildings instead. His hull and cannon had been reduced to a smoking mess of deformed scrap metal, but he was still alive.

The GW Panther witnessed the accident and stopped. Turning around and returning to the crash site, she looked at the wrecked E25; then her gaze fell on Nordic.

He stared back at her, knowing that she was going to finish what she had started earlier now that she had found him. Her gun was loaded and pointed at him.

What he wasn't aware of was the fact that she knew something the others hadn't found out yet—that all of her allies were dead. She had no reason to fight anymore.

She turned towards the E25 again. Saying nothing, she fired a shot into the tank destroyer's backside. The force of the explosion rocked her back on her suspension and the building that Siren crashed into came toppling down on top of him.

After giving Nordic another last look, she then continued driving down the hill, with no sign of haste.

***

All of a sudden, the radio was silent. After Fang had unexpectedly run into someone, Tate had been waiting for the T29 to walk into their hastily assembled trap; but it wasn't happening. Siren had been broadcasting his own little adventure over the radio—as he loved to do. But then there had been an earsplitting scream, a crash, and gunfire. His end had gone silent immediately afterwards.

The Ferdinand allowed himself to be distracted from the current situation as he strained to listen into the deathly silence. He was waiting for even the slightest hint of a noise— _anything—_ but the seconds passed and nothing happened. Surely, the E25 would report back at any moment now. It wasn't like him to be quiet for long.

«Tate!» Fang called, being the first one to lose his nerve. He sounded alarmed. The addressed tank destroyer had to remind himself to stay calm.

This wasn't the first time that one of them was in trouble, and they had always managed to get out of it somehow. This also wasn't like the other times. He had the uneasy feeling that the worst might have had happened.

“I _know_. ” he replied in a harsher tone than intended. There was no way they could help their brother right now; that is, if he was still alive. This trapped T29 was an obstacle in their ability to move quickly. Something as powerful as that American heavy wasn't a vehicle you left behind you.

Tate tried not to jump to conclusions. For all they knew, Siren might have just been knocked out or his radio could be broken. Still, they had to get out of here first before attempting anything else.

“I'm going to distract the T29, you shoot him from behind so I can escape. Then follow me. We'll meet outside the town.” he ordered, and silenced the Jagdpanther's upcoming protest. “ _Now_. ”

Everything from that point on felt surreal. In combat, the senses slow. Everything seems to be simultaneously racing by and crawling through at the same time. It felt like he was standing on the side and watching himself.

He turned the corner and saw the T29 facing him. He shot at the same time the other tank did. The heavy's shot bounced off the Ferdinand's front armor; he barely felt it. Tate's shell however broke through the other's plating, and just as intended, made him back up. He didn't wait for the Jagdpanther to fire but instead turned around to make his escape.

In his peripheral vision he saw the muzzle flash and heard the T29 groan. That meant the shot hadn't killed him. That was bad. Everything in him urged him to turn back, but he knew that if he didn't hurry now, he'd give the heavy a chance to shoot him in the back.

On the radio, Fang kept cursing; saying how he had told that idiot that Himmelsdorf was a bad idea, how he should have listened to him. Tate only focused on the street ahead of him. He had to reach that bend. Just as he sped across the square, he heard the other tank destroyer cry out. He did not stop.

***

Debris crunched underneath Rex' treads as he approached the east entrance in a leisurely pace. There was no need to be overly careful.

A tier five medium wasn't the greatest of threats to him and none of the traitors were alive on this side of the town other than him. Through broken windows he got impressions of the central square, but nothing was moving.

A wreck here, a crater there—the T34 was probably hiding or had run somewhere else. If he was smart, that is. But The VK wouldn't bet on it.

"Come out…" he called gently, "I promiss it will only hurrt a  _bit_ ."

As he reached the entrance, he suddenly realized something: The T34 had been here the whole time; he hadn't recognized the destroyed tank at first because he had expected to find his old teammate alive.

There was a disappointed growl from his engine as he reported the medium as dead.


	23. Consequences

The Ferdinand disappeared out of Eject's sight, and he spun his turret around to face the other tank destroyer that had attacked him. His previous prediction had come true, and it would have been funny if he hadn't been in so much pain right now. He didn't turn around fully yet in case his first attacker tried to return. The Jagdpanther behind him had been shot in the side, which meant that Fox must have finally arrived. He couldn't yet see him because there was a building corner between them, but he assumed that he was in hearing distance already.

"About time!" Eject shouted with another groan. One of the tank destroyer's tracks had been broken by the shot, and he – faced with two enemies at once now - desperately tried to reverse but only succeeded in unwinding it as he turned in a small half-circle instead of going anywhere. He couldn't quite direct his cannon at the King Tiger, and the fact that said King Tiger's gun was pointed right at him made him hesitant about trying to shoot Eject again.

"I'm going to kill every single one of you" Fang snarled, despite knowing that right now he wasn't in a position to do so at all.

Fox completely ignored the threat. "I'm a tank, not an express train" he said calmly in response to Eject's statement; then he commed the others. "I'm aiming at the Jagdpanther's ammo rack. Now would be a good time to tell me if you want him alive."

It took a moment until Eohelm had been able to tell Sky what to reply. «Don't kill him, he might be useful» she said. The two mediums were already on their way, picking up Rex while they were at it.

"Shoot him." Another voice spoke up, and Eject's gaze darted to the hill, where the G.W. Panther had suddenly appeared. He saw the tank destroyer tense up. The SPG's gun barrel was raised however, showing that she herself had no intention of shooting anyone nearby. Not that Fang would have been able to see that. Eject pointed his cannon at her anyway. There was more than one question that he would have liked to ask the G.W. Panther, but he remembered his original intent and decided to ask the most relevant question first.

"Where is Nordic?"

The G.W. Panther nodded at the direction she had come from. "He's up there. He's still alive but he'll need repairs if you want it to stay that way" she replied tonelessly.

Fox heard his team mates approach behind him. The east must have been clear, but it was a good idea to make sure, which was why he decided to ask a question as well. He addressed the tank destroyer.

"Are there more of you?" he asked, earning a hateful clutch grind but no response.

Once again it was the G.W. Panther who replied. She gave the tank destroyer a scornful look. "I took care of another one." Eject nodded. He noticed the slightest shift in the Jagdpanther's posture. He seemed to slump down, looking much more defeated than he had before. The T29 rolled further towards the crossing; now he was able to see the King Tiger as well as the two mediums and Rex who had finally arrived in the meantime.

Fox continued his interrogation undeterred. "Any others?"

Fang dropped his gaze to the ground. He kept silent for a moment longer until he eventually replied. His voice was trembling with subdued anger and hurt. "No. Only the three of us."

"A platoon. That makes sense" Eohelm added. He casted a glance at the assembled tanks before focusing on the stranger again. "Radio your comrade. I want to have a word with him."

Tate repeated himself for what felt like the hundredth time.  
"Siren. Report."  
"…..Fang. Report…"  
The radio remained silent.

He called again and would have been pacing up and down, but felt like the power had been drained from him. Fang hadn't made it. They had been supposed to meet outside the town, but he hadn't shown up and his end of the radio was quiet. Nausea was welling up inside him. He had lost soldiers before, but this was different. Never had it affected him this deeply.

The Ferdinand couldn't help but blame himself for this. He should have stayed. Should have told his brother to flee first. He paused in his distraught thoughts to stare at the town. His mind was made up; if Fang didn't appear in the next ten minutes, he would go back in there no matter what awaited him.

He waited; every second that passed felt like an hour. Just as he was about to go through with his decision, the radio line came to life.

«Tate…it's me. They got me.»

He couldn't possibly put his relief into words. Fang sounded so apologetic and crestfallen, but the Ferdinand didn't feel even the slightest hint of anger. The most important thing to him was that his protégé was alive. But Fang's next words felt like a shot to the fuel tanks.

«Also, Siren is dead. I'm sorry.»  
The feeling of sickness returned full force, and Tate tried his best not to let it show as he responded. These were dire news, but at least they still had each other. They'd figure something out. They'd get him out of there, somehow.  
"Where are you? Don't worry, we'll-" he began to say, but got interrupted by a voice he didn't recognize.

Inside Himmelsdorf, Eohelm had driven up to the intruder's side, basically hijacking his radio as they continued to hold him at gunpoint.  
"This is Eohelm speaking. I am the tactician of this team. Identify yourself."  
«Generalfeldmarschall Weidner. You are holding one of my men hostage.»  
"That is correct. You invaded our base at the worst possible time, completely destroyed our plans and endangered my team mates' lives in the process. Anything you have to say in your defense?"

There was a small pause. The tank destroyer Eohelm was speaking to was obviously thinking about what to say. And if he wasn't an idiot, he would think about it well.

«I apologize for our opportunistic behavior and promise that we will not harass you any further. Just let my soldier go. Please.»

Eohelm looked at his team mates before he replied. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting. Maybe some elaborate and reasonable explanation what the hell they had been thinking when they had rushed into the middle of a battle that wasn't even theirs.

"My team will have to deliberate on this. We will contact you once again once we have made a decision."

The Centurion hung up and Tate couldn't do anything but anxiously wait for the promised follow-up call. He had no idea about this team's policies or what they were capable of. For all he knew, they could decide to kill his other brother as well in retaliation for their interference.

At least it didn't take very long until Eohelm got in touch with him again.

«An apology will not do. We could have died because of you.» The Centurion's stern voice gave no indication of the discussion's results, much to Tate's despair. His distress started to show in his voice.  
"I don't know how to make it up to you. We have no base and no possessions."  
«Well, we need every gun we can get right now. If you travel with us we will spare your platoon mate's life.»

The Ferdinand didn't even need time to consider the offer. The unspoken 'or else' was enough to convince him. Eohelm spoke again.

«Do you accept these conditions?» he asked. Tate responded at once.  
"I do."  
«Good» Eohelm said, «We will escort him to the town's borders where you will wait for further instructions. There's something else we need to take care of first.»

The Centurion told their hostage to cut off communication and turned towards the quiet G.W. Panther.

Fox had volunteered to tow the injured Jagdpanther outside the town with Rex joining him in case the strangers decided to attempt something stupid, while Sky went to retrieve their own tank destroyer. The G.W. Panther had moved as well, making space for Sky. The SPG slowly rolled down from the hill and faced the remaining tanks.

"I suppose it's time for my trial?" she asked in a conversational tone.  
Eject nodded towards the road he came from. "We'll do it at the garage spaces" he said, and then - giving Eohelm a quick look - added, "If that's alright with everyone."

The addressed Centurion nodded thoughtfully. "We might as well. Ladies first."

The trip to the garages was a long one, and it was done in complete silence. Naturally, the G.W. Panther had to go first, closely followed by her two team mates. She stopped as she had crossed the square almost entirely, turning her back towards the rails and watching the others with an unreadable expression. Eject and Eohelm stopped in quite some distance, next to each other. There wasn't really a need for any more of their team mates (especially since most of them were dead now), so it was going to be the two of them doing the trial.

Sky drove up the hill, looking left and right. She wasn't going quite as fast as she could, since she didn't know where exactly she had to look for the Hellcat. The first thing she spotted was a smoking hole in the walls to her right, and for a moment she thought that she had found what she was looking for. But what she saw didn't look good at all. Hadn't the SPG said that Nordic was supposed to be still alive? Because what she saw here was a freaking mess. "Crap….," she mumbled as she was about to go in there and try to save what could be saved when she heard weak, spluttering engine noises from another direction.

She spun around; a bit further up the hill, caught a glimpse of a glacis plate, half hidden inside a destroyed doorway. Immediately, she hurried over there, and yes, that looked a lot more like Nordic. He didn't move, so she assumed that he was unconscious. Judging by the amount of spilled fuel everywhere it also wasn't a mystery why he would have passed out.

"Guys, I found him. And he looks fucking awful, I think his engine is damaged or something" she radioed the others, and got a reply instantly.  
«Is he fit for transport?» Eject asked.  
"He'll have to be" she gave back.  
«Alright, if you can, get him to our fuel depot and have him refuel, we'll have to figure something out later.»  
"Roger that" she replied and moved over to the Hellcat to give him a little lift.

As she was about to leave with the tank destroyer in tow, she thought that she heard something like a groan from the other crashed vehicle behind them, but decided that she must have imagined it.

"Before we start this…I have one last question for you" Eject said.  
"Go ahead" the SPG replied, sounding almost smug; as if she somehow thought that she was going to win this trial. It earned her a dark look as he went on.  
"Are you happy now? Was it really worth it?"  
The Panther gave a small cannon shrug. "It could have worked, but I guess it wasn't supposed to be."  
"'Wasn't supposed to be?'" Eject echoed, "Did you think that you would have survived with half of a team?"

The Panther gave him a long glance before she answered. "Will  _you?_ " she asked with a passionless smile.

He didn't bother answering the question and instead looked at Eohelm, who immediately begun the trial.

"According to the rules, you are found guilty of the following offenses" - he made a small pause before reciting them – "Conspiracy against your team, attempted team kill, deliberate team damage, incitement to team damage, incitement to team kill. Normally, because of the number of offenses, your punishment would be execution. However, the fact that you did not actually kill anyone and your surrender are considered a mitigating circumstance." It was obvious that Eohelm did not see it as such, but he also did not approve of vigilantism.  
"Therefore, you may choose. If you repent of your crimes, you will be marked as a team killer and exiled instead. The choice is yours."

The G.W. Panther kept silent for a moment. She looked at the present tanks, then past them. The sun was slowly rising past the rooftops, as it always did. She had always wondered how it never seemed to care what happened beneath it. It just shone on undeterred, untouchable and full of pride. It had mystified her in the past, but right now she felt like she could relate. For a moment, she felt like the sun itself, and her only real regret was that this was going to be her final achievement instead of all the things she had wanted to be and feel like.

"I know that I caused unnecessary bloodshed and suffering, but everything I did I did in good conscience and I would do it again" she said while smiling at the pale morning sun one last time before turning her back towards it and the others.

"I choose execution."


	24. A New Beginning

Driving towards the town's borders silently, they heard gunshots behind them. It was finally over, then. But now the silence started to seem overbearing. The mood was of course subdued, however Fox figured that he might as well use the time they had while driving to get to know their new involuntary team mate. After all they'd have to get along somewhat at least in the future. He turned his turret around to look at the Jagdpanther. Being dragged along with only one track was more than uncomfortable. Fox wasn't a stranger to this feeling. Which didn't mean that he felt particularly sorry for the tank destroyer that was glaring at him, however.

"So, what's your name?" From the corner of his optics, the King Tiger caught a disgruntled side glance from Rex, who obviously had no intentions of making friends right now. It also probably was the most generic and awkward conversation starter too, but Fox wasn't trying to win a smoothness prize.

As it had to be expected, the Jagdpanther still was the opposite of talkative. He looked away.  
"No name?" Fox prodded.  
"Watch where you're driving" was the gruff response.  
Fox turned around again, thinking that he had inspired this response by being about to drive into something. But the street was perfectly clear, no building corners or other obstacles anywhere in his way.  
He faced the Jagdpanther again. "Well, 'Watch Where You're Driving', we don't have to be friends, but that attitude's not going to get you anywhere."

Rex intervened with an exasperated growl.  
"Why do you boffer? Der's 'n Arschloch" the VK scoffed without even looking back. The Jagdpanther's engine revved in anger and Fox turned to look at Rex for a moment before he returned to looking into the direction he was going.  
"Oh, I think he understood that" the King Tiger said in a mildly amused tone and Rex simply shrugged.

Meanwhile inside the town, they had started clearing the square of the wrecks. They were only taking care of the garage lot for now, and it was going to stay that way since their intention was only to make their remaining time in Himmelsdorf somewhat pleasant without having to look at their ex-team mates' corpses constantly. A cosmetic measure, really.  
Eohelm's engine roared as he invested all of his strength into turning the dead G.W. Panther around.  
"Where do we put them anyway?" he asked short-windedly. Eject was steering Axis – who had been the first one to die – towards the TD's former garage. "Just put her in there too" Eject panted and gestured towards said garage space.  
The Centurion seemed to think about this for a moment. It was a bit macabre, all things considered, but then again he couldn't think of anything that  _wasn't_. With a shrug he waited for Eject to stow away the first wreck before he followed suit. Halfway however, Eohelm's engine suddenly stalled. It only lasted for a moment, but it was enough to cause a pained wheeze.

Eject gave him a surprised and concerned look. "Are you alright?" he asked and immediately drove up to the other's side.  
"Yeah-…yeah, I'm fine" Eohelm replied, sounding far from alright but he returned to his previous task at once. "T-150 must have hit me harder than I thought" he added in a mumbled tone. Eject shook his turret and helped his team mate with pushing.  
"We'll have to get you repaired" he said, earning a shrug from the Centurion.  
"Right now Nordic is more important. I'll survive. He needs help more than I do."

Once they had deposited her as well, they closed the garage door. Whoever would claim the town next would be in for a morbid surprise.

"Actually we could all use some fixing. Let's be honest, no one here's in a good shape" Eject thought out loud with a frown, and Eohelm nodded. The thought remained without consequences, as only a moment later Sky appeared on the street behind them. She was still towing the injured Hellcat. They turned around and met her halfway. Two concerned gazes fell on the unconscious tank destroyer. Then on the trail of oil and fuel behind him. All in all, he could have looked worse, but he still looked incredibly bad.

"Tried refueling him, but it just comes out on the other end again" Sky growled, gesturing towards the trail. There was a moment of glum silence, and no one really needed to say out loud that their team mate's chances of survival were slim if they weren't able to figure something out soon. Eject raised his glance thoughtfully. He then turned to the Pershing.  
"It should be safe for your friends to come out now. We don't need your help here for now" he said. Sky nodded and released the Hellcat. "So I guess you won't stay here for much longer?" she assumed and turned to leave.  
Eohelm shook his turret. "Other teams will soon notice that something happened here. We won't be able to hold the town anymore…I give us a couple of days, but then we'll have to move on."  
"Do you want us to come with you?" the Pershing asked.  
Eject spoke up. "The low tiers will have to work hard and get stronger quickly. They won't stand a chance if we run into someone otherwise."  
"I know" Sky replied before she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The character cheat sheet was updated after this chapter! You can find it [here](http://s1.directupload.net/images/140508/c4om5a4v.jpg). c:


	25. Making Friends

"A Ferdinand?" Fox asked, "Haven't seen any of you in a while." They had finally reached the agreed on place. As it had to be expected, the tank destroyer they met there wasn't in the best of moods either, but he seemed a lot less confrontational than the Jagdpanther at least. Said Jagdpanther had been deposited off to the side, where he wasn't in the way. He and Tate hadn't really gotten a chance for a proper reunion yet, but they exchanged a silent look.  
"Well-" Tate started in a rather stoic tone, but Rex started talking at almost exactly the same time, causing the Ferdinand to fall silent.  
"I hearrd it's because dhere enginns suck" the heavy said, then turned to look at Tate. "Iss dhat true, Ferrdi?" he asked.

The addressed tank destroyer's posture changed to a slightly defensive one at once. "The name's Herr Weidner" he replied distantly. Rex snorted.  
"Herr Weidner? I'm Herr Rex" he grinned, "And dhis is Herr Fochs." He pointed at the King Tiger next to him. Tate understood that he was being made fun of, but he abstained from returning it in any way. He looked at Fang, who seemed offended on his behalf and gave him a soothing nod. This wasn't the time or the place to start another fight. Especially not with his brother being as immobile as he was.

"You didn't mention that you tracked him" the Ferdinand said thoughtfully. Fox shrugged.

"I could have killed him instead if you preferred that?"

Again Tate chose to stay calm. He hoped that they were only being this cranky because of what happened in the town, otherwise he probably would have to start making escape plans soon. Instead he tried to carry on with the conversation.  
"No. What is going to happen now?" he asked and for once received a proper answer.  
"We wait" Fox said matter-of-factly.


	26. Return

Sky herself found it quite difficult to find the place again where she had hidden the rest of the tanking league. She made her way to the scarcely wooded area outside of the town, hoping that no one else had found the place either. Eventually she recognized the surroundings and purposefully advanced until she found the overhanging rock. It was covered well by bushes, shielding it from curious looks of anyone who passed by obliviously.

"I'm back!" she announced herself before entering the small den. All three of the lower tiers were apparently napping, however in a quite weird arrangement. Both of the SPGs were facing her, but wedged in between them and facing to the right was Noob. It looked like they had made sure that he wasn't able to run away.

" _Hey_ " the Pershing said a bit louder, and finally her team mates were startled awake.  
"Sky! You're alright!" Awol cried out, and Noob looked relieved as well.  
"What happened? Is everyone okay?" the Leichttraktor asked.  
Arty piped up as well. "We heard shots and Noob wanted to go warn you but we held him back because you said we had to stay."

Sky nodded and looked at the three of them. She backed up a little. "A fight broke out but it's over now and it's safe for you to come out."  
They didn't hesitate and followed her outside. After all being confined to such a small space had become boring ages ago. She noticed that Awol was giving her concerned looks, probably he was looking for any new damage on her.

"A fight?" Noob asked and gave both Awol and Arty a sulky look.  
"There were fucking traitors in the team. They attacked at sunrise and we would have been able to handle it, but then a pack of tank destroyers appeared out of nowhere and things got chaotic as hell" Sky explained in a dark voice, "In the end we won but not everyone got out of it unscathed."

It occurred to Noob that they probably wouldn't have been able to help at all, and he dropped his cannon after a brief nod. Both Arty and Awol got an uneasy feeling as well and they kept silent afterwards. With nothing left to say on the subject they formed a line and made their way back towards Himmelsdorf.

To shorten the wait, Fox and Rex had started fooling around. After their attempts to figure out who could shoot farther had failed once they had started shooting too far to see the impact, they were now looking for other past times. It didn't take long until they started ramming into buildings to see who could cause more destruction in a single run-up. And then, without a run-up.

Tate watched them with a frown. Was this how the youths spent their spare time nowadays?

"Just give up already" Fox chuckled, "You know you can't win. My engine is stronger than yours." Rex glared at him.  
" _Unsinn!_  I bett you can't mayk dhe beelding over dhere collapse" he huffed. The King Tiger looked to his left and chuckled again. "That one? No problem" he said, confident of success. He turned around and easily completed the task. Rex gave a frustrated growl and they ended up giving each other more and more absurd challenges. In the end, they were simply only breaking down the buildings and running over things for no particular reason other than the fact that it was fun.

It went on for several minutes. At one point, they got caught in the crash. Debris rained down on them and the two heavies started laughing about their mishap.

"Oh god, I'm stuck" Fox chortled; only his cannon was visible. Rex had managed to wiggle himself free and laughed at the King Tiger. However, their merriness got interrupted. There was a loud snarl, and Tate knew what was up immediately. Some of the debris had also hit Fang, which had apparently made him reach a boiling point.

" _You fucking imbe-_ " he started to shout, but Rex cut him off.  
"Shhhhhhh." He drove up to the Jagdpanther's side, cannon facing backwards and hovering next to the tank destroyer's.  
"Shhh. You need to shut dhe hell up" the heavy said.  
"Or maybe just relax a little" Fox added as he finally managed to crawl out from under the rubble. He turned to Tate. "Is he always like this?" he asked the Ferdinand. Tate didn't answer right away. He could see why something falling on Fang would freak him out, and everyone who paid attention to the huge dent on the Jagdpanther's fighting compartment would probably be able to figure it out as well. Even the Ferdinand himself felt uneasy at the sight.

The air was suddenly filled by loud static noise, making everyone present twitch.  
"Dude, turn down the volume!" Fox yelled at his friend, who looked a little subdued as he did as he was told. "What the hell" the King Tiger continued, however at a lower volume himself. Rex left the Jadgpanther's side to join Fox instead. "Eeject mumbles" he explained with a somewhat defensive shrug of his cannon, then fell silent to listen again. The noise hadn't stopped, and Fox could hear the same from his radio. For a moment it seemed like there were fragments of a voice talking, but it was impossible to make out any words. Then the transmission ended altogether. The heavies looked at each other cluelessly. Had something happened? Before they could become seriously concerned, another transmission followed, this time it was clear of any static however.

«Sorry» Eject's voice said, «We're trying to get Eohelm's radio to work again.» There was a small pause, as the T29 probably glanced at his team mate. Fox used it to throw in a quick "Well keep trying." Eject's reply was deadpan.  
«I'm pretty sure he will» he said, and somewhere in the background, they could hear a distressed whine of sorts. «Anyway, you can bring them in now. We're done here.»

"Gotcha" Fox replied. He glanced at the two tank destroyers briefly and then turned to Rex.  
"Let's go" he said, and the two of them drove off at a casual speed.

Tate immediately drove over to the Jagdpanther and brushed the remaining rubble off his armor. At least he wasn't hurt. Seemed like it was his duty to tow him back inside the town (and everywhere else for a while).  
"Why can't we just kill them?" Fang asked, but both of them knew that it was more of a rhetorical question. "It's only for now" the Ferdinand said quietly and Fang sullenly averted his gaze. Tate then affixed the towrope to the other tank destroyer and set off to follow their new team mates.


	27. Preparations

They had all gathered at the south square. Some chatter was going on, but most optics were on the two newcomers. The tank destroyers had arrived almost at the same time as the tanking league, and there hadn't been a lot of time for talk. Instead they had curiously joined the rest of the team in welcoming their additional members.

Arty had ended up standing somewhat in the back, peeking through the gaps between the tanks in front of her. Next to her, she had heard Fox say something to Eject about Nordic and a fuel bath. She wasn't sure if she actually had been introduced to a Nordic, so she didn't know what was going on. What she gathered from the conversation she overheard was that he must have been hurt. But the information really didn't have much use to her. She paid attention to the main reason for the gathering instead now, following it with great interest. Those tank destroyers looked rugged. She couldn't help but notice the apparent lack of maintenance their hulls had seen. One of them sported only one track, but Arty made an educated guess that this had only happened during the fight.

"Did they really attack the town all on their own?" she asked Fox, wondering how strong (or reckless) those two must have been. The King Tiger turned to her and shook his cannon.  
"There were three of them, but we killed one" he explained and Arty nodded despite the fact that the question in her mind weren't really answered by that. Another bit of information that was kind of lost on her.

As she looked back at the strangers, she realized that she must have missed a bit of what was going on. Eohelm was standing next to them, and one of the tank destroyers – a Ferdinand, as Arty would later find out – introduced himself to the present tanks as 'Herr Weidner' and his companion as 'Fang'. The SPG made sure to remember the names, as she always did with everyone.

Eohelm proceeded to point his cannon at one of his team mates. "Rex is going to keep an optic on you" he said. The VK perked his gun up and spoke up brusquely. "Say wat? Hell no!"  
Eohelm sighed and corrected himself. "I will be keeping an optic on you. It would be great if we could make this as pleasant and civil as possible for everyone involved, so please if it's at all possible, don't start a fight or anything similar to that."  
The Ferdinand nodded and looked around, seeming a bit lost. "Where do we stay?" he asked eventually.  
"You can stay here at the garage spaces. You can use one of the empty ones to sleep. Or if you don't want to do that, there's also the train station. I can show it to you, if you want."  
The tank destroyer agreed and the crowd dispersed as the introduction seemed to be over.

Arty didn't really know what to do with herself now. She wandered around aimlessly for a while. Everyone else seemed to have things to do. From what she had gathered, they were going to leave soon, so probably they were packing their things. As for the rest of the tanking league…Awol had wandered off with Noob. Arty saw Sky nearby and decided to approach her, but before she could reach the Pershing, she saw how Eject started talking to her. Since she was in earshot, she heard that he asked Sky to go on guard since she apparently was the one who could see the farthest.  
"Also, one of our team mates should return from the clan wars soon. He's a Leopard 1, so don't shoot him if you see him" Eject added, and the medium nodded. Arty stopped and looked after Sky as she left, feeling a bit sad at the chance she missed to spend more time with her new team mates.

Now, Eject seemed to notice her and he gave her a brief glance. The Sturmpanzer unceremoniously changed her plans and drove over to the heavy instead.  
"Eject?" she said as she reached him.  
"Yes?"  
She hesitated for a moment, since her next question had sounded less out-of-nowhere in her mind, but continued anyway.  
"I was wondering if we could train some more?"  
He didn't answer right away, probably contemplating if he had anything more important to do, and then shrugged.  
"Why not" he said and they started making their way out of the town.  
"Anything in particular you want to work on?" the T29 asked, getting a drawn-out "Uh…" in response.  
"Everything, I guess?" Arty then said after a second thought. Eject chuckled, and the SPG could have sworn that this was the first time she saw him do that since she arrived in Himmelsdorf.  
"Not a bad idea" he said.

The exercise went slightly better for the Sturmpanzer than the last one. She wasn't sure why, so she figured she was just more lucky than last time. After an hour, they called it a day.  
"You need to anticipate your targets' movements more" Eject told her as they rested in the shadow of a tree. "You're doing fine with hitting stationary ones, but they won't always hold still for you."  
Arty dropped her gun barrel. "It's not easy" she mumbled. "Gun traverse and all…" She felt like she was making excuses and gave the other tank a sheepish side glance. "How am I supposed to know what they will do next?"  
Eject seemed to be occupied with watching something in the distance, but he answered. "It all comes with experience. Not only yours, too. In the lower tiers, no one knows what they're doing. You'll watch them, and they will do things that don't make sense because they don't have a plan. Later, in the higher tiers, they will be more…methodical. They'll have a plan, and if you can guess it you'll know where to aim. You'll be able to shoot blind because you'll recognize typical hiding places."

Arty nodded pensively. She hadn't thought of that, but it made sense. Now she followed his gaze, and noticed a moving shape against the horizon. "What's that?" she asked.  
"A scout" Eject replied with a frown. "Looks like other teams already noticed that something went down here. Another reason to leave. It's only gonna be a matter of days until they'll try making a move."  
"So when are we leaving?" Arty asked, turning towards the heavy tank again.  
His engine gave a thoughtful hum. "As soon as Pepper arrives, we'll go to Ruinberg. We have friends there. And then I guess we'll see what happens next."

They eventually returned to the garage lot, finding a still distressed Centurion there. He was half standing on a small pile of rubble, his cannon pointing at the ground at a weird angle.  
The look that Eject gave him carried a kind of forbearing sympathy.  
"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" he asked.

"If I tilt my hull like this and turn my turret this way, it kind of works…! At least it did for a moment, but I think I was holding my cannon slightly differently…." Eohelm mumbled, obviously implying that this was indeed a part of the preparations. He started moving his turret about again, trying to find the exact direction it had pointed when the radio had been working again for a split second.  
"I don't think there's a real correlation" Arty said soberly.  
That didn't stop the medium tank from continuing with his efforts anyway, although he gave the SPG an upset look. "I  _need_ my radio…! I won't survive the travel without it…!" he said.  
It didn't occur to Arty right away that his main concern was that he would be without any music to listen to while driving, so she nodded.  
"Makes sense" she hummed.

"Well, it was nice knowing you then" Eject deadpanned. The Centurion gave an unhappy puff but before he could reply, Arty spoke again.  
"What happened to your SPGs?" she asked with her cannon tilted. She hadn't seen the two anymore since they had returned to the town, but had been trying not to draw any conclusions already.  
"The M40 is MIA" Eject said and paused for a moment before he turned to Eohelm again. "Did someone go and look for him yet?" he asked. Eohelm shook his turret and flinched as his radio made a noise. He returned to his previous position, but the radio remained silent this time.  
"I can do that later" the medium said. "I think Nordic was right about the vacation, though. Otherwise he would have contacted us already."

Both tanks fell silent for a moment as they thought the same thing. 'On vacation' in this case was most likely synonymous with 'dead', but they didn't feel the urge to say that out loud.

Arty gave both of them a look, expecting them to continue talking instead of just staring at the ground thoughtfully. She decided to give them a nudge. "What about the G.W. Panther?" she asked, but felt like she didn't actually want to know the answer.  
"She was leading the traitors. We had to shoot her" Eohelm said; his tone had turned much more serious.

The Sturmpanzer felt a touch of melancholy. Despite the fact that she had gotten nothing but a few hostile looks from the G.W. Panther in the short time Arty had spent in Himmelsdorf, she had felt an instant kinship at the sight of the higher tier German SPG. After all, she had been what the Sturmpanzer aspired to be one day. Hearing now that she had been executed as a team killer, even leading the revolt…it hit a little bit too close to home. Not to mention that she was almost sure that she had heard at least a small undertone of resentment in the Centurion's voice.

The Sturmpanzer tried not to let it show and nodded quickly. "I see. Thank you for helping me with the training, Eject" she said and turned to leave in somewhat of a hurry to get away and find something to lighten her mood.


	28. The Returnee

Arty knew that driving off on her own wasn't the best idea, but she felt like she could use the fresh air. She wished she had had the idea sooner, since loafing around for the rest of the day and generally avoiding everyone hadn't done much to cheer her up. Eventually she had gotten tired of staring at the buildings surrounding her and decided that she wanted to go on a drive.

It took her a while to reach the borders of the town. She hadn't expected to meet anyone, since most of them were busy inside Himmelsdorf, which caused her to be even more surprised when she saw someone ahead of her, leaving the town as well. On a second glance, she recognized the silhouette of the Wespe. They had had some time to talk while they had been hiding together with Noob, however the mood had been rather tense thanks to the circumstances. Seeing as Awol was a fellow SPG, she felt that talking to him again now could possibly lift her spirits.

It turned out that he had been trying to get away from everything for a bit as well, and so they ended up driving together and took their minds off things with casual conversation.

They were following a road that was concealed by a thicket of trees and bushes on both sides, enjoying the less caged feeling outside of the town. It had started feeling more like a tomb to them anyway, especially after the fight that had happened, and it was nice to have some cool evening air blow through their vents.  
"I  _love_ when that happens" Arty grinned, and it earned her a delighted look from the other SPG.  
"Oh boy, me too!" he said, beaming at her.  
"I'm like….YEAH I totally did that on purpose! I didn't miss the other guy, I totally KNEW that  _you_  were hiding there! Bet you didn't see that coming! Fear me!"  
Awol started laughing and she joined in, the uneasiness she had felt earlier already forgotten. They stopped as a wide, open field unrolled before them. Despite the late hour, it was perfectly illuminated by the rising moon. Not a good place for them to be.  
"We should go back" Awol said, sounding more serious again. They had already wandered off pretty far, and they were aware that it wasn't the safest thing for them to do, but had gotten quite carried away by their conversation.

Arty nodded, but before they could turn around she suddenly noticed movement down the road. She froze, which earned her a confused (and slightly worried) look from the other SPG, but then he saw it too. The tank was coming right at them at high speed.

"Quick! Hide!" Awol said and reversed behind the bushes to the side of the road. Arty followed him at once. There was a chance that the stranger hadn't seen them yet, and they ducked anxiously. The tank reached them in a matter of seconds…and tore past them. They could barely follow the flash of dark grey and white with their sights. But it was clear that this stranger was racing towards Himmelsdorf. They looked after the unknown tank in alarm.

"What was that?" Arty asked.  
Awol shook his cannon cluelessly. "I don't know!"  
"We need to tell the others!"  
The Wespe nodded but didn't do anything. After a moment of both of them waiting for the other SPG to start the call, Arty eventually did it.

Eohelm looked shocked.  
"What do you mean 'that never happened'?" he asked. Tate tilted his cannon, but not in an apologetic way. They had spent the day in the train station, with the Centurion checking up on them every once in a while. It wasn't like they had had any conversations, but this time Eohelm hadn't been able to help but notice a military insignia on the Ferdinand. It was so weathered that it was barely visible, but being quite well-versed in historical things, Eohelm had of course recognized it and it had sparked his interest at once. After a short conversation with very reluctant and partly cryptic answers from the Ferdinand, Eohelm had learned two things. Firstly, that this tank destroyer had apparently actually been part of the unit whose insignia he was wearing – which was a little historical sensation to the Centurion -, and secondly, that almost everything he had heard about them had been rumours.

"I see…" he eventually said, but this marked the end of their conversation as someone called Eohelm's name. He turned his turret around and saw Fox enter the train station in a hurry. Frowning with sudden concern, he asked what was wrong.  
"There's a tank approaching the town" the King Tiger said, "We don't know what type. We're gonna receive him at the eastward road."  
Eohelm nodded and turned around completely to follow the heavy tank, leaving the two tank destroyers behind without much of a goodbye.

"Could it be Pepper?" the Centurion asked as he drove next to his team mate. Fox shrugged.  
"The SPGs saw it, but they said he looked American."  
Eohelm considered that bit of information for a moment.  
"Well, he's a Leopard now, isn't he? I could see how they could have confused him for an American tank."  
"Yeah, but we're not taking any risks" Fox replied. It was unlikely that a single tank could take them all on if they were prepared, but even losing  _one_  of their guns or one of them being wounded wasn't something they wanted to happen.  
"Have you tried contacting him?" the Centurion then asked.  
Fox waved his cannon. "So far no answer. Rex is trying all the frequencies we can think of, but we only picked up some static. Maybe something is messing up the signal. Could be that tank's engine, if he's really going as fast as they said. Sky will try to intercept and get a glimpse." Eohelm nodded and focused on the road again.

Rex and Eject were already waiting at the town border, and all of them took positions, ready to shoot whatever would show up on the hillcrest. Noob was sitting next to them too - looking a little out of place, but they appreciated the sentiment. (There had of course been an obligatory 'He can be the decoy' joke.) Arty and Awol had radioed in that they were aiming at the approaching stranger too and had been able to give their team mates an approximate ETA of the unknown vehicle. As the minutes passed, the tension rose and the waiting tanks gave each other brief glances. Finally, they heard the roar of an approaching tank's engine. The SPGs hadn't exaggerated; this guy really was in a hurry and obviously didn't worry about being sneaky.

Moments before they could see him, Sky reported.  
«It's a Leopard!»  
Everyone slumped noticeably in relief. Eject gave a small cannon nod and they came out from their firing positions to await their team mate on the street.

He showed up a few moments later and was obviously surprised to see a welcoming committee.

Hitting the brakes hard, the Leopard stopped just before he crashed into them. He definitely would need some more time to get used to this new body…  
"Oh hey" he said, sounding a little flustered and out of breath as he looked at his assembled team mates who in return were giving him curious looks. For a moment there was silence, until Eohelm spoke up.  
"Pepper?" he asked cautiously.  
The addressed medium nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm back" he said, "I came as quickly as I could…"

"You caused quite the commotion" Fox said, "If the arty hadn't warned us that someone was approaching, this could have ended ugly." With a shrug he added, "We're all a little twitchy at the moment."

"What's wrong with your radio?" Eject asked. His disgruntlement with the inconvenience caused by the Leopard not responding to their calls was obvious. Pepper's turret twitched.  
"What do you mean?" he asked in surprise.  
"We tried to call you multiple times just earlier but you didn't answer. Normally, the thing I do when I see a tank charging at the base is shoot him on sight" the T29 grumbled. Pepper still looked puzzled. "It worked fine the last time I tried…?" He looked around quickly. "Can someone try to call me? It's still the same old frequency I always use!"  
Everyone tried at once, and it resulted in a whole lot of static noise. The Leopard frowned. "Dammit…!"  
"Maybe something got knocked loose during your drive" Eohelm suggested, perfectly hiding what a sensitive topic broken radios were for him at the moment. Before Pepper could answer, he got rammed in the side by Rex. The Leopard wheezed, while the rest of the team looked on in utter surprise.  
"Fixed it?" Rex asked, and as he heard his own voice on Pepper's radio, grinned. "Fixed it." he repeated, sounding utterly satisfied with himself. The medium looked wistfully at what had been his brand new camouflage paint.  
"Ow…Thanks…I guess" he mumbled. The VK 45.02 had already turned around and was now looking at Eohelm, who of course could sense the other's idea and backed up immediately.  
"That won't work, I tried…!" he said quickly and Rex turned away again with a disappointed sigh.

At that point, Sky arrived as well, driving up behind the Leopard and past him to join her new team members. Pepper gave the Pershing a curious glance.  
"You must be Sky?" he asked.  
She nodded. "Yeah. Hi."  
Now he also seemed to notice the Leichttraktor among them for the first time. "And you are?"  
"Noob" the light tank answered. Pepper gave him a puzzled look, not sure if he had just been insulted or…  
"What?"  
"It's my name" Noob said and grinned.  
The Leopard made a small "Oh" sound, and Eject spoke up again.  
"There's also two new SPGs, but they're still on their way back here. If you want to get glared at you can also go and meet the tank destroyers in the train station" he said sternly. All gazes fell on Pepper again, who only had one more question.  
"Are we going to leave right away?" he asked. He didn't mind either way, although allowing his engine to cool down for a little before going on another journey definitely sounded tempting.

Eject shook his cannon. "I would rather wait until early tomorrow. Before sunrise, maybe" he said, earning some agreeing nods from his team mates. With that, the T29 turned to leave and left the others to get re-acquaintanced and introduced.


	29. The Fox and the Wolf

As soon as Arty and Awol had returned as well, everyone got ready to rest for the night. With the upcoming journey it was in everyone's interest to be fit for a long drive then.

Pepper had moved into his old garage, but he was missing a certain familiar feeling that he had expected after returning after being gone for so long. It was only for tonight however, and so it probably didn't really matter. He made himself comfortable and was about to close the door and shut off the lights, when suddenly a grey muzzle appeared in the doorway. Pepper watched as a cannon barrel followed…quite a lot of cannon barrel. He recognized it quickly, and there was only one tank on their team he could think of who was wielding that gun. Finally, as the muzzle was already out of sight again, a bit of tank appeared too. Fox peeked inside curiously.  
"Hey, can I come in?"

The Leopard nodded. "Of course. What's the matter?"

Fox maneuvered himself and his gun inside the garage and Pepper backed up a little to make space for both of them. The King Tiger held back a small yawn. "I was hoping that you could fill me in on what happened after Rex and I left." His gaze fell on the other tank's clan insignia. He pointed at it. "Something went down? Or did you just miss me so much you had them paint my likeness on you?" he asked cheekily.  
Pepper frowned indignantly and shook his cannon. "Don't be silly!" He looked down on himself. "Besides, it's a  _wolf_ …The clan split up and everyone had to choose sides. It was rather ugly but at least it went over quickly. Things are still a bit unstable however…I don't know what's going to happen next."

"A shame that I'm not there anymore" Fox said wistfully, "Sounds like that would be pretty interesting."  
"Tedious, mostly" Pepper replied deadpan. The King Tiger shrugged.  
"You know, I'm kinda starting to miss the accommodations already…there's nothing like a cozy garage and proper meals…workshops…and the taverns…" he sighed and stretched his tracks as he dwelled on the memory of the more comfortable circumstances in the clan territories. In comparison to the rough and humble lifestyles the teams out here were forced to endure, the clans enjoyed pure luxury. Too bad that their territories were rigorously closed off from outsiders. And they also had an obligation towards their team that they had to fulfill.  
"Yeah…" Pepper agreed quietly.

Both of them fell silent for a moment until the Leopard eventually changed the subject.  
"I still can't believe the Panther went haywire" he growled and shook his cannon. She had never been very pleasant to be around, but that she would really go and betray her team? It was both infuriating and saddening.  
"Looks like she got what she wanted after all…" Fox said with a sigh. He didn't sound angry, just tired.  
"Huh?" Pepper gave him a confused look.  
"Well…" Fox said, "She hated it here. Never noticed?"  
Pepper looked to the ground thoughtfully. "I guess she did" he said slowly.  
The King Tiger continued.  
"Looks like in the time we were gone she got really hellbent on leaving. And that's exactly what we're doing now, isn't it?"  
The medium gave a spiteful huff through his vents.  
"Too bad for her that she didn't live to see it" he mumbled quietly.

This time, Fox actually yawned. "Oh well. Looks like it's time for me to get some sleep" he said and turned to leave. "Been a long day."  
"Alright, good night" Pepper replied.  
"You too."


	30. Departure

The sun had barely risen above the horizon when Tate heard someone approach the train station. He nudged his brother to wake him up and earned himself a confused and grumpy look, but before Fang could ask what the reason for the disturbance was, two tanks appeared in the gates. Tate had gotten to somewhat know Eohelm by now, but the only thing he knew about the T29 by his side was that he and Fang had both shot him during their encounter and that ever since he hadn't seemed all too fond of the two tank destroyers.

"Are you ready for a march?" the heavy tank asked sternly. It was most likely a rhetorical question.  
Tate frowned. "A march? Where are you taking us?"  
"Ruinberg" Eohelm answered promptly, which apparently disgruntled the T29, if the subtle twitch of his turret was any indicator. He probably hadn't intended to share that much information.  
The tank destroyer tilted his cannon inquisitively.  
"What are you hoping to find there?" he asked, his voice toneless.  
This time, Eject was fast enough to answer first.  
"That's none of your business" he said tersely.

Eohelm seemed to have lost his train of thought and he looked at his team mate as if hoping for any clue from the heavy.

Fang interrupted the silence, his tone matching the T29's in gruffness.  
"Anything else?" he asked.  
Eject looked at him directly. It was a custom that low tiers were taught early that when looking at someone, you should aim your gun away from them a little, but in this case the T29 was blatantly disregarding that rule.  
"We're leaving in ten minutes" he replied, "Make sure that you're…fit for transport until then."  
Fang returned the glare but said nothing.  
Eject simply turned to leave, and Eohelm quickly added a helpful "We're all meeting up at the North Square," before he followed his team mate.

Tate sighed and went about affixing the towing rope to the other tank destroyer.  
"Like in the good old times, huh?" he asked while working.  
Fang snorted. "They weren't good" he said curtly and looked away.

As they arrived at the North Square, the Ferdinand looked around quickly. Half of the present tanks looked like they were still half asleep while others were busy making last-minute preparations. They had brought a couple of carts filled with fuel crates; provisions for the journey. The Ferdinand hoped that the copious amounts of fuel his engines gobbled up wouldn't bring the team's wrath upon him.

The two tank destroyers drew quite a few looks on them, but that was to be expected. Tate spotted another medium tank that had apparently joined the team since the last time the Ferdinand had seen the outside of the train station. Or if the stranger had been there before, he hadn't seen him yet. But he doubted that the latter was the case, because he would have noticed him for sure. Mainly because he absolutely couldn't figure out what kind of model the grey-and-white medium was supposed to be; it was unlike anything he had seen before. Tate shook his cannon and redirected his attention to other things.

Eohelm was pleasantly surprised at how involved the Pershing was. She had offered her help with towing the injured Hellcat at once.  
"I suppose we could take turns in pulling him" he suggested. The Centurion turned towards Nordic again.  
"You have to stay awake if you can, alright?"  
The tank destroyer nodded weakly and Eohelm gave him a reassuring pat on the turret.  
"Don't worry; everything's going to be alright once we reach Ruinberg. They're gonna fix you and you'll be as good as new."

Both of the medium tanks perked their cannons up as they heard Eject announce their departure and the team started moving.

"How far is it to Ruinberg?" Sky asked.  
"About a hundred miles. Considering that we won't be able to go very fast, we should be there in about 8 hours…probably a bit more since we won't be taking the main roads."  
The Pershing nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, taking turns sounds like a good idea."


	31. Acid Test

"Ugh…"  
Noob looked around. He didn't know how far exactly Ruinberg was away, but if they were all going this slow it would take ages to get there. That was for sure. Not only was it boring as hell, but his treads had also started aching and his engine was tired and he had forgotten to refuel before they had departed. In short, everything about this travel sucked. His gaze fell on the two German heavies driving somewhere behind him, and he stopped to wait for them, then casually drove right in front of them while looking back with a mischievous tank-grin.

"Hey!" he said, and two turrets turned to face him. He looked at Rex. "Can you give me a lift?"

The VK exchanged a glance with Fox. "Wat? How?"  
"Well, your turret's in the back so I think I could ride on you" Noob replied in a cheeky tone. He was only joking around to entertain himself, but on the other hand if Rex said yes, he certainly would have embraced the opportunity to be lazy.  
Before Rex could answer, the other heavy shook his cannon in disbelief.  
"That's silly" Fox said.  
Rex nodded. "Yeah. You haff trracks, use dhem."

The Leichttraktor huffed disappointedly as he turned to face forwards again. "Fine" he said quietly and drove away to see if anyone else was more fun than those two.

They took the dirt roads off the more frequently used paths to avoid highwaymen, but their already slow advance soon got slowed down even further. The sky had gone dark with heavy rain clouds and their concerns as they looked up proved themselves true as they got caught in an outright deluge. In a matter of seconds, they were completely soaked and their trek had slowed to a crawl; a few hours later the ground was so swampy that their tracks started getting stuck.

"Just what we fucking needed!" Fox cursed over the noise of the pouring rain. His treads were spinning helplessly and only digging themselves deeper into the mud. Eject tried pulling while Rex tried shoving, but in the end the only thing they achieved was the VK getting stuck as well.

"It's no use! We'll have to stay for now!" Pepper repeated himself after his first attempt at saying something had been swallowed by a clap of thunder. He was driving slow, careful circles around the whole group in an attempt not to get stuck in the first place.

Arty strained her engine but her narrow tracks weren't cooperating at all, which left her with trying to force her hull forward by sheer willpower as the only option. A side glance at Awol told her that he wasn't off any better either.  
"At this rate we'll never make it to Ruinberg before nightfall…" she sighed with an uneasy glance at the horizon but got no response from the Wespe, who seemed to be focused entirely on driving on.  
It seemed to her like the world was ending, and she couldn't remember when it had rained this hard the last time. She was sure however that she hadn't been exposed to the forces of nature like this back then. At least the two SPGs could still somewhat move, despite slowly and cautiously. The rest of the team didn't have that much luck.

"No, we are wide out in the open!" Eject growled and continued his fruitless attempts at freeing the King Tiger. "If we stay here and someone finds us we're dead!"  
"Well, unless you can pull a fleet of towboats out of your exhaust I don't think we'll be going  _anywhere!_ " Fox yelled at the T29, which in turn caused the other heavy to drop the towing cable at once.  
"How about you pull yourself out on your own?" he hissed back.

Only a few meters away, Eohelm looked down with subdued resignation. He watched the currents of water that most likely stemmed from a nearby overflowing river. The name of said river escaped him, but it didn't matter either way. They had ended up in the worst place at the worst time. He raised his gaze again and gave a distant tree line a worried look, but the rain made it impossible to tell if there was movement there. A rainbow-colored shimmering portion of the current to his left caught his attention, and he felt cold shivers as he traced it back to Nordic.

The Hellcat had half sunken into some sort of ditch, and neither Sky – who had been pulling him the whole time – nor the helping Leichttraktor seemed to be able to do anything about it.

Eject and Fox had started an acrimonious debate, pushing the blame for their situation back and forth, and Sky's enraged attempt to direct their attention towards their injured team mate went completely unnoticed as Rex joined the argument as well. It seemed like all the repressed stress and tension from the latest battle was resurfacing just then. Again, at the worst possible time.

He was still debating whether or not it would do anything good if he tried to join the debate when the sudden booming sound of a cannon being fired made everyone fall silent.


	32. Bad Omens

No one said a word anymore as all cannons turned to the sound of the noise. Half of them were expecting to see someone dead or at least severely hurt, but as their looks fell on Sky, they saw that she had simply fired into the air to finally get everyone's attention. It was easy to tell that she was furious, judging by the glares that she gave to everyone.

"What the hell?! Are you all fucking serious right now?! Are you gonna start a second Himmelsdorf or will you fucking stop arguing already? Your team mate is kicking the bucket over here and all you do is argue!  _What kind of team are you?!_ "

Looks were shared, some of them begrudgingly agreeing, others outright guilty. Sky shot another barrage of angry glances. No one said anything, but ahead of them, another voice piped up.

"Sky!"

The Pershing turned her turret to where she had heard the voice of her brother calling her. He and Arty were standing at the foot of the hills ahead of them and waving.

"The ground is firmer up here!" Awol said, "If we can all make it up here, we'll be able to go on!"

Sky nodded and turned towards the rest of the team again. Her voice grew softer as she went on.  
"You heard him! Come on guys, I know that we can get out of this if we all work together and help each other."

"That's what we were trying to do" Eject replied flatly.  
"I mean more like…making a chain or something. So we can all pull at once."  
Eject tilted his cannon and nodded eventually. "It's worth a try, I guess" he agreed, and the others followed suit.

"So who of you isn't stuck yet?" Sky went on.

Eohelm, Pepper, Noob, and Eject raised their cannons.

Sky looked around to see where the two tank destroyers had disappeared to. If they had used the chance to bolt...She found them as she looked at the hill. They had already managed to get further up there somehow and were looking down at the other tanks; the Ferdinand seeming almost sheepishly gleeful while the Jagdpanther had a sneer to spare for them. It was quite clear that they didn't feel a lot of sympathy for their captors' trouble. Sky couldn't believe that they had obviously taken the time to release the one-tracked TD only so they could both comfortably sit up there and watch the spectacle.

"What about you?" the Pershing shouted at them, "How about you make yourself useful too?"  
The tank destroyers looked at each other, and the Ferdinand shrugged.  
"First of all, everyone who is stuck needs to stop moving. You'll only dig yourself in further" he said as he slowly and carefully descended a little to help.

A tedious forty minutes later, all of them had managed to make it further up the hills. It was still raining heavily, but it had become a little less severe so at least it didn't feel like the clouds were trying to drown them anymore. Rex shook the mud off his turret. "I'm glad dhis is ohver" he grumbled.  
"We still have a long climb ahead of us! If you're not careful you could still get stuck again. Or worse, you could slip and tip over" Eohelm said as he drove past the VK to scout ahead. He didn't miss the AMX at all, but couldn't help but think that right then he would have been incredibly helpful. The hills were covered in rocks and patches of stony ground that was slippery as hell. It was difficult to keep his tracks from losing traction, making the steep climb even more difficult for a forty ton tank. The medium's engine certainly wasn't happy.

He had noticed a concerning clacking noise somewhere in his engine compartment, and got reminded of a rather terrifying incident he had witnessed recently – in which a (now former) team mate had suddenly died after the battle had already been over. They had deduced that he had taken a hit to the engine, but it hadn't blown up or anything of the sort. Instead, judging by the bent piece of metal that they had found next to the wreck and that had looked like it could have been part of his transmission, the shell must have knocked an internal part loose; it eventually must have come off. With the forces and momentum involved in the tank's inner workings, it had basically been turned into a projectile, shooting the engine compartment into pieces.

An ugly sight, and not even a seldom one. The Centurion sincerely hoped that he wasn't going to suffer a similar fate.

A Wespe, a Leichttraktor, and a Sturmpanzer had already decided to spend their time with other things than worrying themselves sick about their travel.  
"That was a stork!" Arty said cheerfully, her cannon following the large black-and-white bird flying above them.  
"Okay, okay, my turn!" Awol said and looked up.  
"What bird is that one?" Arty asked him, pointing at a black one with a white chest and wing tips.  
Awol looked at it for a moment. "Hmm. A magpie, I think" he said thoughtfully.  
The other SPG nodded. "I think so too." They both looked at Noob.  
"Your turn" Arty grinned.

"Alright…" the Leichttraktor replied and stared upwards intently. He couldn't look as far up as the other two, but he still was doing really well in this game.  
It was Awol's turn to pick a bird for the light tank to guess; his cannon moved about as he searched the sky for another bird. It was surprisingly easy – for some reason a lot of birds were flying at the moment.  
"Another magpie…" Awol mumbled, watching the bird fly by. "What about those?" He pointed at a whole flock of plain colored birds that was approaching them. There were some more colorful ones among them, but the exact colors were hard to make out, thanks to the distance and the dark sky.  
"That's unfair!" Noob said with a pout. "It could be everything! I bet you don't even know either."  
"Maybe sparrows…" Arty mused, but before they could arrive at a decision, the flock had already flown past them.

Instead of continuing, Awol started frowning. "Isn't it weird that so many birds are flying? I thought they don't like rain" he said. Another flock followed the first one, and then another small one.  
Arty raised her cannon thoughtfully.  
"I don't know…do they?" she asked. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember if she had ever seen birds fly around during thunderstorms. Frankly, she didn't really pay much attention to this sort of thing. She noticed something else, though.  
"They're also all flying in the same direction" she said, earning two uneasy glances from her fellow low tiers.

Dwelling on his thoughts, Eohelm hadn't even noticed that Pepper had suddenly appeared beside him. He only became aware of the Leopard's presence when he actually started talking to him.

"Are you sure that we're still going in the right direction?" Pepper asked with a worried look at his maps. Eohelm looked back at the other tanks. The two mediums were a bit ahead of them, and he wanted to make sure that they weren't in hearing distance when they discussed such potentially upsetting things. Not after the almost-escalation earlier. He turned towards the other medium again.  
"Well, if we're lucky we're just taking a small detour. My hope is that once we reach the top of these hills, we'll be able to oversee the area and find our way again."  
Pepper nodded, but it was obvious that he was having a bad feeling about it. He spoke again after remaining quiet for a moment.  
"I also picked up some radio transmissions earlier. From another nearby team, I guess. They didn't mention anything that could imply that they're aware that we're here though," he said with a frown. "Just complaining about the weather."

An utterly unfamiliar noise made both of them raise their gaze at once.  
"What-"  
From behind the hilltops, a pale brown and white mass came rolling towards them. Only at a second glance they could make out separate shapes – dozens of roes, fleeing down the hills at a neck-break speed; stumbling over obstacles, sliding and skidding down the rocky hillside, running into and over each other, the panicked bleating and the trampling of countless hooves almost deafening.  
Pepper and Eohelm hit the brakes hard, stunned by the wholly unexpected sight. The Centurion was the first one to regain his composure, and he turned his turret around, shouting "Watch out!" at the rest of the team. They had already noticed the animals as well and while some of them braced themselves for inevitable collisions, others scrambled to get out of the way of the herd's path.  
The Leopard turned his cannon away as well as quickly as possible. He didn't want to find out how it felt to have one or even multiple deer crash into it.

It was a matter of seconds until the herd reached them. Loud metallic impacts could be heard, and someone cursed, but it was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Eohelm cautiously peeked past his turret cheeks and turned back around after making sure that the stampede was over. A lone fawn limped past them, trying to follow the rest of the herd. As the noise of the deer started to fade, the near silence that followed was unnerving. What could have possibly made those animals panic so much? If he was honest to himself, the Centurion wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He shared a quick glance with Pepper.  
"The other team's chatting like crazy now. They must have seen it too. Something's going on up there" the Leopard gasped.  
Eohelm turned around and rushed back down to the rest of the team, and Pepper followed at once.


	33. Don't Let Go

Arty slowly crawled out from under a dead deer. It flopped to the ground lifelessly. Noob stared.

"Is everyone alright?" Fox asked with a look around.  
"I…I think so" Arty said quietly, her words being followed by a startled outcry as the deer – apparently not as dead as she had thought – suddenly came to and jumped up to flee as well.

Tate looked up the hill. They were too high to see what was going on up there, and he had a bad feeling about it. He turned to his brother.  
"Now would be a good time to bolt" Fang growled under his ventilation, his gaze fixed on the hills as well. They watched the mediums hurry towards them and to the other tanks. They obviously seemed to share the sentiment.

"Everyone, we need to find cover,  _quickly_ " Eohelm urged, drawing all looks on him for a moment before turrets started turning in search of any available spot. It was hard to tell what cover was appropriate when they didn't even know what kind of danger they were in; but the terrain hardly offered any cover to begin with.

"Did you see anything?" Sky asked. Pepper and Eohelm both shook their cannons.  
"No, but I heard the radio conversations of another team and they saw  _something,_ " the Leopard replied, "Something that made them panic." His voice was grave and no one dared to doubt the severity of their situation.  
"Should we turrn round?" Rex suggested. He was staring down the way they had come from. Just like the climb, the descent would be difficult and dangerous. Even more so considering that they were in a hurry.  
"Back into that dirt pit?" Arty threw in with a groan.

Pepper shook his cannon furiously.  
"No! Everyone just- just get behind a rock or something, just hurry" he hissed, stumbling on his own words.  
While the tanking league shared hectic and clueless looks, Eohelm threw another anxious look at the hillside. Was that movement up there? He looked closer, and could make out several silhouettes popping up behind one of the ridges.  
"Enemy tanks approaching!" he shouted, immediately drawing everyone's attention into the direction he was looking. He could make out a couple of Jacksons, a T71, MT-25, and what appeared like a Type 62 at the first glance, among other TDs and lights, coming straight at them.

They heard them shouting and before anyone could even do as much as aim at them, a deafening, roaring sound made the tanking league freeze. Behind the other team, water suddenly shot over the visible hillcrests, a terrifying storm surge that carried trees and debris with it, and it was crashing down towards them. One of the Jacksons got hit by it and spun out of control before being swallowed by the deluge of water and mud.

"A mudslide!" someone cried and none of them even had the time anymore to react in any other way than gape in silent terror. The fastest tanks of the other team had reached them and raced past them at a neck-break speed, and panic broke out as they saw the masses of water rush closer and closer.

No bracing themselves could have prepared them for the initial impact. Eohelm and Pepper were the first ones to get hit, and the Centurion, unlucky enough to stand sideways, simply got thrown off his tracks and flipped over before disappearing between the waves. Pepper felt like the ground underneath him was dissipating, and for a moment he was sure that he was going to suffer the same fate as the other medium, but as he slipped backwards and the water started going over his turret instead, something crashed into him and he blacked out.

Awol, who had been standing close to Noob, got thrown against him, and both of them screamed as they started descending rapidly.

Arty yelped as she felt her treads starting to slip on the moving ground. The water currents smashed into her and her front was drifting off to the side as she began to uncontrolledly skid back down the hillside. She lost sight of the other two low tiers as they were swept away as well.

"No no no  _no nono_ -" she yelled hysterically, to no avail.

Only a few meters away, Sky had only managed to make it as far as a few centimeters before the current hit her and threw her off her course as if she weighed nothing. But not only her; Nordic, who was still connected to her after all, was sent into a violent tailspin.

At first she thought her towing rings had been torn off – because that's what it felt like – but as she spun her turret around she realized that the rope had snapped. The last thing she saw of the Hellcat was him giving her a horrified look before the torrent carried him away. Her own descent came to a sudden, painful halt as Eject caught her.

Arty was carried down mercilessly, her tracks spinning without use. One of them suddenly regained traction on a small patch of firmer ground, but instead of enabling her to regain her footing, it sent her trundling. She fell silent momentarily as more water entered her vents violently. To her left - no, it was her right the next second - she caught a glimpse of one of the Jacksons, the wreck smashed into a rock with the water dragging at the snapped tracks and softer parts.

Descending further at a dizzying speed, her rear grazed another rock, chipping it and tearing a gash into the side armor. She cried out, getting thrown around again and certain that her end was near as she suddenly slammed sideways into something else.

She gasped in pain.

"It's alright, I got you" an unfamiliar voice said, making her flinch.

Looking to the side to see what had stopped her involuntary waterslide ride, the sight frightened her as well. The Ferdinand's fighting compartment towered next to her like a wall. She hadn't expected to get into close vicinity of the tank destroyer that had been shooting at her team mates just a day ago anytime soon.

He stood slightly awry, his backside facing her, treads ground into the loose earth underneath. She also caught a glimpse of his fellow TD, the Jagdpanther standing a bit off to the side and trying his best as well to stay there. For a moment, none of them said a word. The blustering current and the thrumming of raindrops against their armor and the screaming and yelling of the other tanks filled the air, and Arty was stone-still. But the moment passed, and with a scraping noise she started skidding again as the force of the current threw more mud and stones against her. Her effort to fight it by trying to back up only made it worse.

"Don't move!" Tate shouted, but it was already too late. With another terror-stricken scream, Arty slid off the Ferdinand cannon-first, about to dive down the hill once again when all of a sudden she was stopped again, this time by the towing cable between the two tank destroyers as it got caught between her glacis and her cannon. The rope had tightened as Tate himself had started slipping and had almost passed by his brother just moments earlier, and all three of them made a choked noise at the whiplash-like sensation.

The Sturmpanzer wheezed, trying not to look down.

She heard a shrieking cry to her right and saw a light tank crash into Fang, who tried to shake him off as both of them were being dragged down as the light clung desperately to the tank destroyer.  
" _Get OFF!_ " Fang roared, fear accompanying the anger in his voice.  
" _No! Help me! Please! Help me!_ " the light screamed.  
Tate shouted something that got drowned out by the Jagdpanther's cannon and the explosion that followed; a moment later, Arty watched the light's lifeless hull being washed past them.

Fox felt like his tracks were about to snap as he invested all of his engine power into not being overwhelmed by the current. It wasn't just the water – he wouldn't have had that much of a problem with it. It was the fact that the ground itself was following the water down the hill. He refused to look anywhere else but at the rock formation that he was trying to reach. Something unrecognizable shot past him in chaotic flips, and his vents were sucking in more water than air, making him feel light-headed. He could only guess how long his engine was going to last like this, so he tried to focus on the goal ahead. The other German heavy next to him tried the same, but both of them kept losing traction repeatedly and slowly but surely skidded down the hill, bit by bit. A different rushing than that of the water drew closer all of a sudden, then something scraped his side and as he turned to take a look at what had just only barely missed him, Rex was gone. Turning his turret further, the King Tiger saw a screaming tree tumbling downwards, the trunk snapped in half.

"Brake!" he shouted at the other heavy and got a " _Ich versuchs ja!_ " in return, followed by a yelp as both the tree and the VK were apparently swallowed by the ground – they had fallen down a ledge.


	34. Overshadowed

A gentle runlet dragging at his treads was the first thing Pepper noticed as he started to wake up. Or rather not the runlet itself, but the fact that it had replaced the riptide from before. Feeling dizzy, he opened his viewports and took in his surroundings. Whatever had knocked him out was nowhere to be seen now, and neither was anyone else. The flow of water had almost died down and the area looked exactly how it could be expected to look after a mudslide; disrooted trees and other unrecognizable rubble were scattered across the uneven ground. It had been muddy before already, but looked even worse now. Bits and pieces of the landscape were everywhere.

He heard voices shouting somewhere in the distance, but couldn't really make out any words or the exact direction they were coming from. The Leopard shook his turret. It only moved slowly and made a scraping sound, telling him that all kinds of small stones and dirt were stuck in the gaps. As he climbed out the small pit the water had created by heaping up mud around him, a branch that he hadn't even noticed before fell off him.  
'Well, at least I was camouflaged…' he thought sourly.

For a moment, he tried to gain some kind of insight as to where he was, but the uniform chaos around him gave him no clue. The only thing he could somewhat use as an indicator was the incline of the hill. He listened closely to the voices and decided that they were somewhere below him. At the same time, he realized that his radio was suspiciously silent. Fearing that it was broken for real this time (which would have been an  _outrage_ , considering how much they had charged him for it) he messed with the frequencies. It seemed like he was lucky, since he managed to pick up his team mates' chatter pretty quickly.  
"Guys…? Hello?"  
They sounded relieved to hear his voice, however Arty was the only one who didn't seem to be busy with something that demanded her whole attention.  
 **«** Do you know where we are? **»**  she asked.  
Pepper paused before answering. He took another look around. "No. I can hear you though" he said eventually. Night had fallen by now and while the moon peeked through the heavy rainclouds, it was still too dark to see more than just his immediate surroundings. Arty remained silent for a while as well. The medium got the distinct feeling that she was busy too, or at least distracted by something.  
 **«** Ehr….well do you know where  _you_  are? **»**  
With a sigh, Pepper replied. "I'm afraid not."  
 **«** We all had to descend quite far, so we're pretty low on the hill I guess. Maybe if you drive down you'll be able to see us. Or at least our headlights! **»**

The Leopard nodded to himself and switched on his own headlights. The light was reflected by the raindrops, making it in fact even harder to see much.  
"I'll try" he said and turned them off again.

He cautiously started going back down the hill. It was more of a slipping and sliding than driving really, and his treads sunk deep on spots where the mud was covering grooves and ditches. Part of a cannon was sticking out of the ground. He made sure to drive a big circle around it. Looking into all directions still, there was still no sight of his team mates; however he knew that he was on the right way as their voices continued to grow louder. Eventually he caught a glimpse of some rays of light. His engine turned a bit faster with relief and he almost crashed into an obstacle as he forgot his caution for a moment.

Contrary to what he had hoped, he wasn't the only one who had gone missing. He could see Arty, Eject, Fox, and the two German TDs. The heavies were standing on top of a ledge and discussing something while Arty looked on. Pepper had heard a couple of other, less familiar voices on the radio as well, so he assumed that Sky and the rest of her little group were alive as well, despite not being present. Rolling forward, the Leopard joined his heavy team mates and looked down the ledge to see what they were talking about.

"Oh dear…" he sighed. Half buried under a layer of dirt, Rex was standing, although 'standing' in this case was to be taken more literally than usually as he was balancing on his rear with his underside facing the almost vertical slope in front of him. Only part of his front was sticking out on top of the ledge as its height was smaller than the overall length of the heavy tank's hull. It looked like even the slightest gust could cause him to tip over and fall on his turret. Yet he miraculously managed to keep the balance by staying completely still. Although with great trouble, if his distressed replies were any indicator. Sky was there as well, but it was rather obvious that she had had climbed down voluntarily as she had both her tracks firmly on the ground. Now Pepper also understood why Arty was mostly uninvolved with the situation. The Ferdinand and the Jagdpanther on the other hand seemed  _completely_  uninvolved. As in, not even interested in the slightest.  
"I mean, we could try. Maybe if one of us pushed at the same time." Fox mused, "Not sure if his towing rings would hold though if we tried to pull him up-…"  
"I'd radher  _not_  find out!" Rex interrupted.

Eject shook his turret. "I don't think that would help. Also I don't know about you but there's no way I'm going to risk eighty tons falling on me."

Pepper thought about the possibilities; sadly it seemed like there weren't many, but he decided to bring in his suggestion anyway.  
"If we just use the towing ropes to hold his front down, he could try to reverse. If he falls over, we might be able to catch him…or prevent it in the first place."  
"Might?" the VK whined.  
Sky sighed. "Do you want to stay here instead?" she asked sternly. Rex fell silent with a grumble.  
"No…" he said eventually. "Any odher idees?" he asked the other tanks above him. He got pensive looks but no answer. Only a few seconds passed before Sky apparently decided that she didn't have the time to do nothing right then.

"Arty, can you come with me? Let's go look for the others" she said and made her way back up the ledge. The Sturmpanzer nodded and both of them drove off.

Pepper turned to the remaining tanks. He hesitated, searching for words. The question he was about to ask was a difficult one for him.  
"Did…everyone make it?"  
Only Fox turned around to answer. "The low tiers are okay. They radioed in and said they're in a safe place. Eohelm…not sure. We heard some static from his end, so maybe he was trying to tell us that he's alright. We told him to stay put but I don't know if he heard it."  
The Leopard noticed that his team mate had left someone out.  
"Nordic?" he asked tentatively. Fox dropped his cannon, and Eject answered instead of him.  
"I saw him getting dragged away…Little chance that he's still alive" the T29 said without turning around. The tank destroyer's state had been dire when they had departed already. It was indeed very likely that the flood had finished him off.

"This whole goddamn journey was doomed from the start. How could  _anyone_  think that leaving Himmelsdorf would be a good idea" Eject added with a deep growl from his engine. He didn't need to say the name; everyone knew who he was thinking of.  
"What about our supplies?" the Leopard went on. He had dwelled on the subject of the riot excessively already, and frankly didn't want to think of it again right then when the whole situation was already upsetting enough on its own.  
"All gone" Fox replied.


	35. What happened so far (Summary)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote up a really really condensed summary of what happened in each chapter so far. I guess it could be useful for people who forgot what happened or those who missed chapters and don't have the time / motivation to catch up.

**Chapter 1: Noob**  
Noob the Leichttraktor discovers that his team is gone and he almost falls victim to an SPG that ambushes him.

**Chapter 2: Awol**  
It turns out that the SPG is Awol, a Wespe who is alone as well. He ran away as his team was wiped out by an enemy attack. He joins Noob although neither of them even really know where they are going.

**Chapter 3: Arty**  
Arty, a Sturmpanzer II, accidentally kills one of her team mates and is forced to leave her team.

**Chapter 4: Eject**  
Eject the T29's team has their base in Himmelsdorf. They have been there for a long time despite some of the team's tanks aren't happy with it, but Eject thinks there's no point in leaving a perfectly good base.

**Chapter 5: Sky  
** Sky, a Pershing and Awol's sister, leaves what is left of her team behind to find her lost brother. As she reaches Mountain Pass, she realizes that Arty has been following her around and confronts the Sturmpanzer. As Arty tries to explain that she was just scared of being alone, they hear voices approaching. ['The Hummel Quest Tales: Sky' takes place during this chapter.]

**Chapter 6: Mountain Meetup**  
The voices are Noob and Awol who have been running in circles for a while.

**Chapter 7: Reunion**  
Sky and Awol recognize each other, but they can't return to their old team because they would be considered traitors. They decide to just found a new team. Arty and Noob join the team.

**Chapter 8: Night Encounter**  
The team unsuccessfully tries to find fuel. As night falls they spot two German heavy tanks approaching them. Sky gets ready for a fight and hides in cover while Arty decides to act as a decoy.

**Chapter 9: Rex and Fox**  
The heavies, a King Tiger and a VK45.02B are Fox and Rex. They find it suspicious that they meet a lonely Sturmpanzer in the middle of nowhere and are about to shoot her.

**Chapter 10: Showdown**  
Sky starts a surprise attack on the heavies while Arty hides, but they manage to knock Sky unconscious.

**Chapter 11: Aftermath**  
Awol manages to break up the fight by explaining their situation to the heavies. Fox and Rex tell them that they are on their way back from the clan wars to Himmelsdorf and offer the team to come with them.

**Chapter 12: The Tanking League**  
On the way they think about names for the new team and come up with "the Tanking League".

**Chapter 13: Ambush**  
They reach Himmelsdorf, but before they can enter the town they are being shot at. As Eject and the rest of the Himmelsdorf team show up on the scene, it turns out that it was Nordic (a Hellcat) who had confused the returnees with enemies.

**Chapter 14: Decisions**  
The Himmelsdorf team decides to let the Tanking League stay and refuel. Some team members, especially a GW Panther and an AMX 13-75 aren't happy about that.

**Chapter 15: Shelter**  
Eject tells the Tanking League about their decision.

**Chapter 16: Eohelm**  
The Tanking League spends the evening at Eject's garage. Eohelm, a Centurion introduces himself to them. He tells them war stories and asks about their own stories.

**Chapter 17: Stories  
** Awol and Sky say that they are looking for a new home, Arty admits that she is a team killer, and Noob jokingly claims that he slaughtered all of his team mates. Before they go to sleep, they agree that they should train together the next day.

**Chapter 18: Exercise**  
The Tanking League and Eject, Fox, and Rex train together on the fields outside Himmelsdorf.

**Chapter 19: Nordic  
** Nordic overhears the GW Panther and the AMX 13-75 trying to convince the team's M40 to join them in a riot against their team mates. The M40 doesn't care and leaves. Nordic manages to find out about the details of the GW Panther's plan and that she wants to attack in the coming morning.

**Chapter 20: Revelations  
** As they take a break from training, Arty talks to Rex and finds out that Eject used to be a Hummel at some point, but no one knows why he changed that. Suddenly Nordic appears and warns them about the GW Panther's plans.

**Chapter 21: Tate**  
After they raided Ensk, Tate the Ferdinand, Siren the E25, and Fang the Jagdpanther are on the way to Himmelsdorf to raid it as well.

**Chapter 22: Silence Before The Storm**  
Sky, Rex, Fox, Eject, Nordic, and Eohelm have gathered at Himmelsdorf's train station and discuss who of the Himmelsdorf team they can trust and make a plan to counter the attack that is going to happen in the morning.

According to their counter plan, a part of them leaves their garages in the middle of the night to take positions to surprise the rioters. Sky made sure to hide the lower tiers outside the town.

The AMX is patrolling outside Himmelsdorf during that night. Tate and his TD pack have reached the town in the meantime and catch the light tank to interrogate him at gunpoint. The AMX tells them everything but instead of letting him go they kill him.

**Chapter 23: Apocalypse Now**  
As morning comes, the rioters prepare for the attack. They notice that some of the tanks they thought were going to help them have disappeared, but start the attack anyway. The GW Panther is commanding them from on top of the hill.

The rioters get surprised by the other half of their team and the GW Panther's plan starts falling apart.  
Meanwhile outside Himmelsdorf, the M40 has decided to not participate in the battle and just leave. He gets killed by Tate's TDs as they enter the town and join the fight.

(A lot of fighting.)

(More fighting.) Nordic, who was going to go after the GW Panther gets surprised and severely wounded by her. He manages to retreat but nearly passes out.

[The latest chapter of 'The Hummel Quest Tales: Pepper' takes place during this and the following chapters.]

Eject tries to rescue Nordic but their team's Indien-Panzer tries to stop him. Meanwhile Siren finds the GW Panther and chases her down the hill.

(Fighting.)

Eject tries to convince the Indien-Panzer to surrender. He refuses, but before Eject can shoot him he gets rammed to death by Fang. Eject shoots him instead, but the Jagdpanther manages to escape. Eject also discovers Tate, who is trying to ambush him.

Of the rioters, only the GW Panther and a T-34 are left. Fox is on his way to help Eject against the invading tank destroyers.

As the GW Panther flees down the hill, she passes by Nordic who tries to shoot her but hits the E25 that is pursuing her instead. The TD crashes into a building.

Tate and Fang decide on a hasty retreat as they hear Siren crash. Rex discovers that the T-34 is already dead.

**Chapter 24: Consequences**  
Tate manages to escape but Fang doesn't make it. He gets tracked by Fox who arrives just in time. The GW Panther arrives on the scene as well and surrenders.

Tate gets a call from the Himmelsdorf team as he waits for Fang outside the town. They tell him that they are holding his brother hostage and force the two TDs to join them in turn for letting Fang live.

The GW Panther faces a trial and chooses execution as her punishment. Sky goes to retrieve the unconscious Nordic.

**Chapter 25: A New Beginning**  
The survivors of the Himmelsdorf team join the Tanking League.

**Chapter 26: Making Friends**  
Fox and Rex transport the tracked Jagdpanther to the border of the town where they meet Tate.

**Chapter 27: Return**  
Sky goes and brings the hidden low tiers back to Himmelsdorf. Fox and Rex are getting bored of waiting and shenanigans ensue. Eventually Eject tells them that they are ready to receive their new team members and they return to the town as well.

**Chapter 28: Preparations**  
Eohelm introduces the TDs to the rest of the team. Afterwards Arty asks Eject to help her with training.

Eject tells Arty that they won't be able to hold the town any longer and that they are going to leave really soon to stay with an allied team in Ruinberg. Back in Himmelsdorf, Eohelm is trying in vain to fix his broken radio. Arty finds out that the GW Panther led the riot and was killed.

**Chapter 29: The Returnee**  
Arty decides to go for a drive and Awol joins her. A Leopard 1 appears but doesn't notice them as he races past them towards Himmelsdorf. The SPGs warn their team and everyone takes positions in case they are being attacked. It turns out the Leopard is Pepper, a team mate who just returned from the clan wars. He introduces himself to the Tanking League.

**Chapter 30: The Fox and the Wolf**  
The legendary chapter in which Fox and Pepper have a late-night talk about clan things.

**Chapter 31: Departure  
** Last minute preparations are made for the travel, and eventually the now much bigger Tanking League starts to leave Himmelsdorf.

['The Hummel Quest Tales: Sierra' starts here.]

**Chapter 32: Acid Test  
** Their travel has just begun when sudden heavy rainfall slows them down and several tanks end up getting stuck in the mud. A fight breaks out.

**Chapter 33: Bad Omens**  
Sky manages to stop the argument from escalating, and everyone helps together to free their stuck team mates. They make their way up seemingly endless hills when suddenly fleeing animals cross their path. Pepper picks up radio conversations of another team; said teams seems panicked as well.

**Chapter 34: Don't Let Go**  
Moments later the Tanking League finds out the cause of all the chaos – a mudslide crashes down on them.

**Chapter 35: Overshadowed**  
Pepper wakes up and reunites with the rest of the team. Part of the League is missing, however. Nordic is dead.


	36. Rescue

Sky kept calling her brother's name. It was the same pattern over and over – shouting, then asking on the radio if they had heard it. Every time the answer was 'no'. It had turned out that, in an effort to find the rest of the group, the Leichttraktor and the Wespe had started wandering around on their own. Of course they had stopped the moment they had been able to reach someone on the radio, but that didn't change the fact that they had gotten even more lost than they had been before. This was one of the reasons why Arty made sure to remember exactly which direction they were driving so they would find their way back later.

"If only the rain clouds would go away…" the Sturmpanzer sighed with a resigned look to the dark sky above. The moon had been visible for a short time, but it was gone again. She could estimate its position and use it as an indicator where they were going, but it was rather inaccurate this way. She would have suggested waiting until the morning and continuing the search when the sight was better, but had the feeling that Sky wouldn't have agreed. But despite that, she was positive that it was only a matter of time until they'd find the two missing low tiers.

The medium tank by her side didn't respond and instead continued her shouting-and-calling cycle.  
"What about now?" she asked on the radio.  
«Nothing…» came the answer from Noob. He had sounded enthusiastic about being rescued at first, but now, at least an hour later, his tone was a discouraged one.  
«Wait! I heard something! » Awol suddenly chimed in. «Shout again!»  
" _Hello?_ " Sky tried.  
«Hmm…no» the Wespe replied, but then a short moment of terrified silence followed as all of them realized that something – or someone – else must have made the noise.  
"Oh fuck" the Pershing hissed. Before she could say anything else, a tense whisper from her radio made her freeze up.  
«There's….there's someone over there…! I think they've-»

Loud thunder swallowed part of the sentence, and Arty saw Sky tense up.

«-ing towards us-»  
Again the transmission got cut short, and Sky yelling into her radio didn't change anything about that. It looked and sounded like the Pershing was going crazy right then. Arty didn't know what else to do and Sky's panic was contagious, and so the SPG frantically tried to reach the other two low tiers as well. There was no answer, and both of them eventually fell silent, a deafening silence replacing their voices.  
Sky was glued to the spot in impotent fury and fear. She flinched as the distant sounds of cannons and an explosion tore through the silence. They were far away, but still clearly recognizable. Before Sky could even react, her radio came back to live with an incoming transmission.

«We're fine! » her brother's voice announced. Sky relaxed audibly. Her whole hull creaked as she sunk heavily on her suspension.  
"What happened?" Arty quickly asked while her team mate was still in the process of regaining her composure.  
«There was this tank destroyer, she…» Awol replied, sounding haunted from the encounter, «She tried to force us to come with her. We killed her…»  
"Shit…Don't scare me like that" Sky said. Above all, her voice sounded relieved, but her engine was still racing.  
"I think I know where they are now" Arty said hesitantly.  
"And everyone else who heard the shooting too, probably" the medium tank added. Turning to the radio again, she quickly told the Wespe to hide if possible and be really quiet from now on in case someone else might get any stupid ideas.

For the first time in a while it seemed like luck was on their side. Only a short time later they were finally able to locate their team mates, and after a quick reunion they started making their way back to the others.  
"What's the status? Any progress?" Sky asked on the radio while they were driving.  
«Rex is free» Fox responded with exaggerated solemnity. He seemed in a rather elevated mood, compared to when Sky and Arty had left. «He  _did_  fallon Eject after all, but they're both fine.»  
Arty couldn't help but chuckle as she heard that. There was something inherently funny about heavy tanks tumbling about. Maybe there hadn't been if someone actually would have gotten hurt, but as it was she thought that it was socially acceptable to laugh. And it seemed like she wasn't the only one who thought that way.

The overall mood got even better when upon returning, all of them could look for Eohelm together, resulting in a quick rescue of the medium. They found him after traveling further up the hill. He had been lying on his roof and unconscious, but flipping him back over and waking him up had revealed that the damage he had suffered was only cosmetic this time, fortunately.

It didn't change that the fuel for their journey was gone and that they had lost another team mate and that they didn't exactly know where they were, but at least they could continue their travel now.  
After a rest, that is. All of them were able to agree that it was better to wait until the morning.


	37. Von Hier an Blind

Chilling wind blew over the stark plains, drying the mud the tanks were covered in. It was hard to make out anyone's paint anymore as all of them now sported a uniform pale brown. After spending the whole morning with leaving the hills behind them, they had ended up in an area neither of them recognized. An attempt to see if they were close enough to call the Ruinberg team through their radios had failed, which they assumed had to mean that they were still too far away. Pepper had managed to reach his clan commander through a number of relayed calls, but his hopes that this would help their situation in any way had been extinguished when he had found out that the clan was suffering another iteration of vicious infighting.

At least it had stopped raining.

Afternoon came, and they were still wandering aimlessly through the seemingly never-ending lowlands. As the mediums returned from another fruitless patrol, they decided that a break was in order.

Pepper and Eohelm sat together, frowning while they studied their maps in hopes of gaining some insights about their position, where they had lost their way, and where they were even headed. While Eohelm seemed to be completely focused on the task, it was easy to tell that his team mate was beginning to lose his nerve.  
"Screw this! We probably ended up in freaking France or something!" the Leopard shouted and proceeded to throw his map on the ground to run it over multiple times.

Eject was watching the outburst that had woken him from his nap just now and raised his voice to be heard despite the raging and cursing medium tank.  
"Any clue at all yet?" he asked Eohelm. The Centurion looked up briefly and shook his turret.  
"Nothing, sorry."  
Eject sighed and turned away again. Pepper's tantrum wasn't really something the T29 had never seen before, so he went back to dozing. The heavy tank's time was better spent conserving his energy, since it looked like they wouldn't reach their destination in a while and his fuel tank was already half empty.

Arty took a deep breath through her vents. Again she wondered if doing what she was about to do was a good idea, but then again she had already prepared the words mentally, and now not to use them…that would be kind of a waste. Also she felt that she was obligated to do it. She shrugged and shook off her hesitation. Turning her hull around, she left the vicinity of her team mates to go and talk to the two TDs that were keeping to themselves a short way off.  
It looked like they were talking to each other, but they stopped once they noticed her approaching. Two curious gazes were resting on her as they obviously waited to find out the reason why the Sturmpanzer would come to see them.

She stared back for a moment, trying to remember the reason herself in the face of two – admittedly still pretty intimidating – strangers.  
"Ehr….Hello" she eventually said. There was no reply, but she could sense the looks shifting from curious to frowning. She pulled herself together and quickly went on, switching to German.  
" _I…wanted to give thanks to you for saving me yesterday_."

Apparently by using the polite pronouns she had struck the right chord with the Ferdinand at least, because his expression changed to a friendlier one.  
" _There's nothing to thank me for_ " he replied.  
Arty fidgeted about as she realized that she hadn't planned anything from that point on. She also tried her best to ignore the Jagdpanther that was obviously unimpressed by her manners and glaring at her.  
" _Herr Weidner, right?_ " she eventually asked.  
The Ferdinand nodded. " _Correct. And you are…?_ "  
"Arty."She felt reminded of the gathering in Himmelsdorf and another thing came to her mind.  _"I'm sorry for your loss._ "  
The response she got this time was two bewildered looks, but no one said anything. Wondering if she had accidentally brought up a touchy subject, she decided that it was probably better for her to leave again before further awkwardness could ensue. After all she had said what she had wanted to say already, so there was no reason to overstay her welcome with the strangers.

" _Anyway, uh, I have to go. So long!_ " she said and made a rather hurried exit.

Tate tilted his cannon as the Sturmpanzer rushed off. What a strange little SPG she was. He hadn't even had the heart to tell her that her rescue was really more a happy accident than a deliberate act of charity. His brother huffed for whatever reason. The Ferdinand turned to him slowly, dwelling on a thought.  
"Maybe it's better this way after all" he said pensively. Fang gave him a completely disoriented look.  
"What?"  
Tate worded his next sentence cautiously. "…that he's gone." However, it didn't prevent what he had hoped to prevent – Fang blew up anyway.  
"How can you say that?" he snapped, sounding genuinely hurt.

The Ferdinand sighed and shook his cannon. "Sorry."

After finally calming down, Pepper had started another attempt at collaboration with his team's Centurion. The only change however was that now both of them were staring at the same map. Which didn't necessarily bring any big improvements. Noob had joined them too, but they were so immersed in their task that they only noticed the Leichttraktor when he spoke up.

"Why don't we just ask someone for the way?" he asked.  
Eohelm looked up and shook his cannon. "There's no one we could ask" he explained patiently. Noob turned his turret around and pointed at the horizon.  
"What about these guys?"  
Both mediums immediately directed their sights at whatever Noob was seeing. Eohelm accidentally dropped the map as he saw the silhouettes of a group of tanks. They were passing them by about 600, maybe 700 meters away. Obviously those other tanks hadn't noticed the Tanking League; or they didn't care.

"You're going to be a great scout one day" Eohelm mumbled at the light tank without averting his gaze from the strangers, then turned to the Leopard by his side.  
"Quick! This might be our only chance in a while!" he said with a hectic tone to his voice and Pepper nodded before he raced off.


	38. Back on Track

They were lucky. Not only did the foreign team not attack them on sight, it also turned out that they were on the way to the nearest big road as well. Tentative euphoria took a hold of the Tanking League as they heard the good news from Pepper, and they immediately decamped to follow the other team. Although just as banged up and short on supplies as they were, the strangers agreed to share some of their fuel and were all around friendlier than one could usually expect from a non-allied team. But for once, that wasn't even suspicious; it was safe to assume that no one really felt like risking anything by starting a fight under these conditions.

It didn't take a long time until they reached the road the other team had talked of. Still, no one could say where exactly they were for sure, but the road signs had started featuring Ruinberg after a while.

The low tiers marveled at the sight of even more teams traveling on the same road, forming a huge loosely connected convoy of worn out and tired teams. One of those teams however stood out from the rest. Not only were they in a slightly less poor condition than the rest, they also had another rather unique feature.  
Sky, Awol and Arty were the first ones to notice them. The three of them had been driving together and at first only seeing another Pershing had caught Sky's interest. But it didn't take them long until they stared curiously at the rest of the unusual team as well. The other Pershing and a couple of other mediums, among them a KV-13 and a Patton, were constantly circling a small group of SPGs.

Sky couldn't help but get the impression of the mediums herding the artillery pieces together like cattle of sorts – they outright seemed to keep their optics glued on them.  
"Tch" she snorted as she watched the strange team. "When I heard that some teams fucking keep SPGs as pets, I didn't want to believe it…looks like the rumours are true."

Arty and Awol frowned. The Sturmpanzer felt reminded of the many times some of her old team mates had treated her in a way that had made her feel like more of an asset – a mere tool – than a living, sentient being with thoughts and feelings. And sadly, some of the enemy SPGs she had encountered had given her the impression that she hadn't been the only one suffering that fate. But she had never thought that a team would push the concept to such an extreme as the team before their optics was apparently doing.

The other team's Pershing drove up to one of the SPGs and shoved it roughly before continuing the patrolling with a laugh. Arty flinched as she saw it. That particular SPG looked incredibly battered already – in contrast to its team mates – and it just seemed to accept the abuse. On the second glance though, Arty couldn't really figure out what particular type of SPG it even was. She knew the German ones very well, and it  _did_ look German, but not like any of the ones she could think of.  
 _'Must be a TD then'_ , she thought to herself.

"Look, another GW" Arty suddenly heard Fox say sourly from behind her. She hadn't noticed him catching up, but she didn't look back at him and instead immediately tried to make out the SPG. She finally spotted it quite far in the back, surrounded by two huge other SPGs that almost hid it completely. The shape of the GW Panther was distinct enough however to be seen nevertheless. As the Sturmpanzer was still thinking about how sad it was that this was yet another idol she wouldn't be able to get in touch with, she realized that all of a sudden, Sky had left her side and was driving off towards the other team with her cannon lowered grimly. Or specifically, right towards the other Pershing, obviously on her way to have a word with him about this glaring injustice.

"Sky no…!" Arty and Awol gasped in unison, but that of course didn't stop or even slow down the medium.


	39. The Rainmakers

Sky had heard her brother and Arty trying to hold her back, and she was pretty sure that they hadn't been the only ones seeing her leave. But she didn't even think about turning around, her engine revving angrily as she drove straight towards the other Pershing. It seemed like he had noticed her and he turned his turret towards her curiously. However he didn't slow down in the slightest, so she had to literally chase after him.

She got tired of it quickly, especially as it started to look like he was just playing with her. His engine must have been more powerful than hers, too. He had no trouble shaking her off again and again and then slowing down again until she was getting somewhat close. Deciding that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of shouting at him to slow down, she simply turned around and went straight for the SPGs instead. That worked like a charm, since now the other Pershing suddenly turned around as well and approached her. Sky stopped and glared at him until he reached her.

"Rack off" the other Pershing said with a rough smugness, "Nothing to see here."  
"I will not" Sky replied harshly and got straight to the point. "I don't mean to interfere with your team's affairs,  _Mister_ , but what the hell do you think you're doing?"  
The other medium just laughed. "Well that's indeed none of your business,  _Miss_ " he said in a mocking tone.  
Sky didn't even think of backing down, standing on her tracks firmly. "You and those other mediums should feel fucking ashamed of yourselves. Do you think SPGs are some kind of slaves?!"

"Slaves?" a voice purred calmly. The GW Panther Sky had seen earlier suddenly appeared next to her. Two SU-14-2s were with her and one of them looked amused by the scene they were witnessing.  
Sky was confused at the confident appearance of the German SPG and fell silent for a moment.  
"We aren't slaves, honey" the GW Panther went on. Her dark paint seemed to swallow what was left of the setting sun's light.  
"But the mediums-…" Sky replied, still dumbfounded.  
"…are here to guard us" the SPG said, giving her medium team mate a smirk which he returned. "I think your help isn't needed right now" she said to him and he nodded, then went back to patrolling.  
"Come, take a drive with us" the GW Panther smiled.

"I've…never seen a team like yours" Sky said hesitantly as she drove alongside the SPGs. For some reason, she felt awkward around the GW. Not outright uncomfortable, just…awkward. She couldn't exactly pinpoint a reason, but there was something overwhelming about her presence. The other tank's looks that she gave her had a kind of confidence in them that seemed to dwarf her own.  
"You haven't even seen the rest of our team yet" the SPG hummed. Sky gave her a puzzled glance.

"We were separated by the storm, but will meet the others along the way" the GW Panther explained.  
"I see" Sky responded with a thoughtful frown. "I didn't know it was possible" she then added, thinking out loud.

The other tank turned towards her, waiting for her to speak on, although her expression made it look like she already knew what the Pershing was going to say. Sky returned the look and tried to get her train of thought on track.  
"Don't you run into trouble with so many SPGs on your team?"

The GW Panther laughed and shook her cannon.  
"It seems unthinkable, doesn't it? We SPGs who lack the armor, the speed, the quick reload…how could we possibly win against enemies who have all these qualities? How could we possibly survive, or even defend ourselves?"  
Despite the sarcasm in her voice, the SPG still managed to make it sound pleasant somehow.  
"Well, we certainly don't mind a little help, every now and then. That's what the mediums are for. But what's a heavy tank's armor to a high caliber HE shell? What good is a light tank's speed if it's subjected to a carpet bombing? What use does your big cannon have if you are facing an enemy you can't see?"

The questions were purely rhetorical and as Sky naturally didn't answer, the SPG gave her a sly smile.  
"Most teams that try to attack us think they have found easy prey, but you wouldn't believe how fast opinions change once the shells start raining down…"

Sky looked around her. She counted five SPGs, and that was only  _part_  of the team. Of course she had been on the receiving end of artillery fire before, but lucky enough to never suffer a direct hit. Even those near misses however had left a permanent impression on her. She would never forget fighting next to team mates that, without a warning and despite being in cover, had suddenly been swallowed by an explosion and simply ceased existing.  
A lone artillery tracer above meant trouble, but her mind refused to even try to imagine the sight of such tracers filling the sky and the devastation they would inevitably cause.  
"It's as terrifying as it sounds…or so I've been told" the GW Panther smirked, reading Sky's expression with such an accuracy that for a moment, the Pershing wondered if she had said out loud what she had been thinking about.  
"They call us the Rainmakers. We have never been defeated. Half of the teams we meet, we don't even have to wipe out. After the first barrage, they'll just turn around and run, if they value their lives."  
Her voice became more sardonic again as she added, "How ironic that in the end, it was rain that took our home."  
Sky nodded empathically. Stranger or not, losing one's base – especially after holding it for a long time – and the resulting complications and stress was something she could relate to all too well.

"I'm sorry for making assumptions about your team" the medium said.  
The GW Panther waved her cannon dismissively with a smile. "I can't blame you" she replied and Sky found herself at a loss for words after that. The SPG was dominating the conversation anyway, so she just curiously waited if the stranger had anything else to share. But quite the opposite was the case. Not only did the GW Panther stay silent, she also looked at Sky in a way that made it look like said silence was intentional. It was starting to make Sky feel uneasy, but then the other tank finally said something again, looking past the Pershing as she spoke.

"I have to say that  _your_  team looks rather unusual as well" the GW mused. Sky replied with a drawn out "Yeeahh", but didn't elaborate. Even though this artillery team seemed nice enough, they still were total strangers, and other than the GW Panther, the Pershing wasn't going to disclose any more information than necessary.  
"We're the Tanking League" she said eventually. The SPG by her side nodded as if she had just gained a significant insight.

The conversation got interrupted as tanks in front of them and around them started slowing down and eventually stopped.

"Why are we halting?" the GW Panther asked, addressing no one in particular. Her voice had turned unexpectedly commanding. A Patton drove towards them from further ahead.

"Looks like one of the teams decided to settle down for the night" the medium reported, "I guess others are gonna follow suit."  
Neither of the two SU-14-2s that had been driving next to Sky and the GW Panther had said a word so far, so Sky was almost startled when one of them spoke up.  
"It doesn't sound like a bad idea if you ask me" she said cheerfully. The other SU rolled her cannon.  
"But no one asked you" the SPG said.

"I think I should better return to my own team now" Sky interjected as it seemed like an argument was about to break out. She saw no point in staying and listening to a discussion that wouldn't affect her when in fact she should be having that very discussion with her own team. The GW Panther seemed to be the only one who even acknowledged her statement and nodded at her. Sky did a mock salute and left.


	40. Jack

When the Pershing returned to her own team mates, the anticipated discussion was already in full swing. Surprisingly, even the TDs participated. She could see why the Ferdinand advocated for spending the night here. Basically dragging along 45 tons of Jagdpanther when he himself weighed almost seventy was a very solid reason to take a break. The amusing part about it was that said Jagdpanther on the other hand disagreed since he wanted to reach their destination as soon as possible to get repaired, and so the two of them were having their very own argument actually. Eohelm and Pepper wanted to move on as well, but Eject was incredibly adamant about staying. Surprisingly, Arty had joined the argument as well. For some reason Sky had had the feeling that she wouldn't. Just like Eject, the Sturmpanzer apparently wanted to stay, but she was much less pushy about it, constantly adding that despite her opinion, she would of course not mind doing what the majority wanted to do. Awol and Noob were merely looking on.

After watching the debate and trying to decide which side she wanted to be on for a while, Sky suddenly realized that two of their heavies were missing. Her optics quickly scanned the area for them, and she was able to make out Rex' easily visible striped cannon. Fox' grey turret was sticking out from right next to the VK's dark green hull, and both of them were looking away, obviously watching something else going on. Sky followed their looks with hers as she drove towards them.

She understood quickly why what they were seeing would be more entertaining than arguing with their team mates. For them, anyway.

"Third team now" Fox said to Sky as she reached them.  
Rex chuckled. "Poor bastard" he sneered.  
The artillery team's mediums were still fulfilling their role as guards, and right then they were pretty much ganging up on an AT-2 who had approached their team. The tank destroyer quite noisily begged them to let him stay with them, which the mediums responded to by just as noisily telling him to go away. Sky noticed that this time, the GW Panther didn't step in, and neither did any of the other SPGs.  
"Please! Let me join you! Please!" the tank destroyer whined, loud enough for Sky to understand every word.  
"No! Fuck off already!" the other team's Pershing shouted back, displaying the same 'charm' he had before when Sky had talked to him.  
"We have one useless TD already, we don't need another!" a KV-13 added.  
"I can fight! I'll be useful, I promise!" the AT kept trying, but it earned him a rough shove from the Pershing.  
"If you're such a good fighter, then where's the rest of your team, huh? You're just a weak-ass tier 5. Now get lost before we shoot you!"  
The AT-2 gave up and left the other team alone, his cannon drooping as he drove away.

For a moment, his gaze grazed Sky and her team mates, but apparently he had been discouraged to the point of not even starting another attempt and just moved on.  
Sky looked at the heavies, and they looked at her. All three of them were silent; then Sky started grinning.

The Tanking League's discussion on whether to camp or not was interrupted by an unfamiliar tank being escorted right into their midst by three of their team mates.  
A slightly intimidated looking AT-2 threw a conscious look at everybody around.  
"Hello…I'm Jack" he said quietly.

A little while later, the tank destroyer was still busy with introducing himself to everyone. As he had started to fully realize that he had found a new team, he had started getting less shy and was cheerfully conversing with the other low tiers who seemed to have accepted him immediately.  
"I'm not sure if another low tier is a good idea" Eject muttered to Sky. "We have so many of them already."  
Sky however watched the AT-2 with a hint of pride, happy that she had found someone who seemed to get along so well with everyone already.  
"He'll catch up" she said without taking her gaze off the tank destroyer.  
"I think it's okay if we let him stay, a low tier vehicle doesn't necessarily have to be a burden" Eohelm threw in thoughtfully. Eject turned towards the Centurion and frowned.  
"Cannon fodder?" he asked deadpan.  
Eohelm returned the look and seemed flustered. "No-, well, kind of maybe-"  
He shook his turret and sorted his thoughts before he continued speaking. "What I mean is that one more tank is never a bad idea as long as he can fight for himself and isn't dependent on our protection. Tier 5 isn't too bad, all things considered. He can still make a difference."  
Sky nodded in agreement and Eject's engine gave a pensive rumble. It didn't seem like he was convinced yet, but he didn't discuss it any further either.


	41. Campfires

The addition of the new team member of course had only distracted the tanks from their discussion for a short amount of time. But it was eventually decided that the pros of staying for the night with the other teams outweighed the possible gains from continuing on without a rest. Campfires were lit all around them. In the end, only one of the teams had moved on, and the rest of them was either enjoying the safety and calm after the flood among themselves or mingling with other teams.

Sky helped with igniting their own fire, and then, as she was unoccupied for a moment for the first time after returning, two SPGs scurried over to her and looked at her expectantly. It occurred to her that she had been so busy with other things happening in the meantime that she had completely forgotten to fill in her team mates on what she had found out during her visit of the artillery team.

"What did they say?" Arty asked  
"Ah…well. Looks like I was wrong" Sky said with a look towards where the artillery team was camping. Her voice turned sheepish.  
"It's kinda the opposite of what we thought, I guess. They told me that the SPGs are actually the ones who're in charge."  
Despite being a rather critical one usually, the Pershing hadn't doubted for a moment that what the GW Panther had told her was true. Her attitude hadn't been that of a subordinate – Sky knew a leader's charisma when she saw it.

"Oh…that's good" Arty said, not even trying to hide her relief. There also seemed to be something wistful in her voice as she gazed into the same direction as her team mate, but Sky wasn't able to completely fathom it. She looked at her brother, and he nodded with a small smile, seeming just as relieved.

With that out of the way, they ended up joining their team mates at the fire. Not all of them were there; some had retreated to get some rest (which Sky chose as well) while others stood together in other places. A certain Leichttraktor however was still awake as well, and was obviously taking the belief that no campfire was complete without a thrilling campfire story very seriously.

"I heard that one of my old team mates' friends' cousin once saw one of them in the woods" Noob said sternly, giving the two SPGs next to him piercing looks. "She was on guard duty and it was in the middle of the night...suddenly, she heard a deafening screech like that of an owl, but much more oilcurdling."

It looked like Arty's ventilation had stopped completely as she followed the Leichttraktor's every word anxiously. Noob grinned mischievously as he went on, the campfire reflecting on his turret armor eerily. "Her instincts told her to run away, but it was her duty to go and look to make sure that it wasn't something that could endanger her team..."

His voice dropped to a whisper, making the other two tanks lean in closer.

"And then she saw it...between the trees a creature was standing on two legs, and its skin was paler than a deer's skull and its eyes were glowing white and it was taller than Eject! When it saw her, it gave another terrible scream and ran towards her before suddenly turning around and disappearing into the forest...!"

Arty looked terrified. "W-what, that's creepy as hell!" she whined and gave Awol an upset look to see if he was as scared as she was. He returned the look and was about to say something when suddenly a voice behind the Sturmpanzer hissed " _And she neverr returnt!_ " and something touched her back.

Arty screamed and jumped and Rex, who had sneaked up on her, started laughing and drove forwards to join the three others at the fire. Fox was following him and grinned at the Sturmpanzer.

"Don't scare me like that!" Arty squeaked indignantly, her engine racing from the fright.  
Noob immediately turned to the heavies.

"What about you? Do you think the humans are real?" he asked.  
"I think dhey all died" Rex replied smugly. Fox nodded.  
"Either that or they must be hiding somewhere. I've never seen one. " He tilted his cannon thoughtfully, and then added, "I've heard a similar story once."

That immediately got him everyone's attention, all cannons turning towards him.  
"One guy at the clan told me. He was in a forest as well when it happened. He had just gone for a drive and was enjoying the night air when he heard branches breaking. He asked who's there, but got no answer. Nothing tried to shoot him either. That was a bit unnerving, but when you hear some noises in the thicket you just assume it's an animal, right? Well, he was about to shrug it off and drive on when he heard a scream. It could have only been a few meters away from him. It didn't sound like an animal at all, and not like a tank either. He's not an idiot, so he decided to get the fuck out of there as fast as he could, but whatever that thing was…it was following him. He drove as fast as he could, but the screaming wouldn't stop and it sounded like it was right behind him. And let me tell you, he's not a slow tank either. Ever seen an AMX 13 90 run? There's no animal I know that runs that fast. He ran like his life depended on it – and who knows, it probably did – but he just couldn't shake it off. And instead of being able to find his way back out of the forest, he just ended up driving deeper and deeper into it. The trees and bushes became so dense that he started having trouble being able to maneuver between them. He thought that was the end for sure. It was slowing him down, and he had no doubt that whatever was following him was going to catch him now. But then something strange happened…instead of getting closer, his pursuer was falling behind and the noises were getting quieter until he couldn't hear anything at all anymore. He finally found his way out, but he never found out what it was or why it had stopped chasing him. Needless to say, he never went anywhere alone at night again."

Both Arty and Awol looked even more aghast than they had after Noob had finished his story, and even the Leichttraktor's expression had changed to a similarly scared one.  
"B-But…that's just stories, right?" the light tank said hesitantly, looking around for his team mates' approval.  
"Well, I guess so" Fox said with a shrug. "I think people are freaking themselves out so much because of the creepy stories they listen to that they start to see scary monsters everywhere. And I'm pretty sure some exaggerate what they saw. A lot of the stories are probably made up too to scare low tiers."

The conversation quickly moved on to less eerie topics, much to the relief of the low tiers. After a while Awol went to sleep, and Noob followed eventually. The heavies didn't stay up much longer either. In the end only Arty remained.

The Sturmpanzer stared into the fire silently. Only two weeks ago she had still thought that she would be stuck forever with her team, and now, in such a short amount of time, so much had happened. Some good things, a lot of bad things, but all of them had been part of a big adventure and she couldn't say that she regretted joining the Tanking League in any way. In fact she still had trouble even fully grasping how lucky she really was that after her accident, she didn't just end up alone and die.

Her optics suddenly got caught by a moving shape somewhere in the background, and she focused her gaze. Near the border of their camp, between the high grass and the shadows, a stranger was standing and waving his cannon. Arty turned around, but there was no one behind her that the strange tank could be waving at. She looked at him again, and he returned the look, so there was no doubt that he was waving at her.  
The Sturmpanzer blinked and slowly rolled towards the other tank. He was giving her a broad tank grin, then turned around and disappeared. She could have sworn that she had seen this guy before, but with all these other teams around them it just refused to come to her mind where she had first seen this Comet. Or maybe she hadn't seen him at all yet? She wasn't that good at remembering looks.

In any case her interest was sparked and she curiously followed him. She didn't have to drive far to find him again, and again he was waving before he turned around and drove on.  
Arty hesitated at first, but followed him anyway. The next time she spotted him, she decided to talk to him before he could run away again.

"Where are we going?" she asked. There was no answer, so she tilted her cannon with a frown.  
"I think I should go back" she said.  
The medium shook his turret eagerly and said something she didn't understand.  
"Wha-" she began to say, but the Comet suddenly drove a little circle around her and started pushing her further away from the camp.  
"Huh- ehr, wait-… _oh-_!" Arty flailed verbally, and in response got a string of unintelligible (yet cheerful) words as the other tank took her away to an unknown destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been asked how Sky helped to make the fire. [Here's](http://artyrambles.tumblr.com/post/96397563747/the-tanking-league-isnt-fucking-around-when-it) the answer!


	42. Scarlett

Jack wandered around the camp to find a spot to sleep. At first he had wanted to stay up a bit longer, but then he had noticed that there wasn't even anyone at the camp fire anymore. So he had thought that he might as well call it a day. The problem was that he didn't want to sleep all alone – something he wasn't really used to – but on the other hand he also didn't know these tanks well yet and didn't want to seem annoying by just invading their personal space late at night. He noticed two German tank destroyers resting next to each other. He hadn't introduced himself to those two yet. Maybe the fact that they were the same class would make it less weird if he asked to stay with them for the night. Who knew, maybe they would even be able to talk about…cool TD stuff?

Driving up to them, he announced himself by clearing his vents noisily. It seemed like they had been sleeping already, because both of them flinched and immediately pointed their cannons at the AT-2.  
"Oh—hey-, hi-  _please don't kill me_ " he stammered. It did achieve the desired effect of not getting shot, however they were still aiming at him, looking overall wary and vaguely hostile.  
"What do you want?" the Jagdpanther asked.

So far, Jack's experience with this team had been a pleasant one. The tanks had seemed pretty nice. Which was the only reason why he assumed that those two could be too, despite that Jagdpanther sounding pretty unfriendly. To be fair, he had startled them. He would have probably been a bit grumpy too. He wasn't discouraged yet.  
"I was wondering if I could sleep with you guys…" he began to say, but got kind of quieter the more the two Germans stared – or rather glared at him, "….since….we're all TDs…..and stuff."

He felt increasingly unwelcome the longer the following silence stretched. Finally, the Jagdpanther spoke again.  
"So are hundreds and thousands of others" he said in a dismissive tone.  
The AT-2 was now sure that he indeed wasn't welcome, and he gave them an alienated look. What were two jerks like that doing with such a nice and kind bunch?  
"I'm sorry" he said soberly, "I didn't mean to disturb you."

After her brake pipes had started bubbling, Arty eventually had noticed that this mysterious stranger wasn't pushing her away from the camps but rather towards one. If this was a kidnapping, then it was a very strange one. Curiosity took over again and she concluded that the Comet must have been trying to show her something…or someone rather than taking her away. She didn't have to wonder much longer, because their destination already appeared in her sight – it was the very same team that Sky had visited earlier that day. They were gathered around their fire, and the fact that their team's size was reduced at the moment allowed them to form a circle around it with no one having to stand further back. At this point there was no pushing needed anymore. The Sturmpanzer drove forwards on her own and the tanks before her noticed her and rolled aside while throwing curious looks at her.

"Is that her?" a female voice that belonged to a Patton to her left asked.  
Arty automatically looked for the GW Panther and found her to her left as well, with two tanks being between them. It seemed like the other SPG had spotted her as well, and she turned towards the Sturmpanzer.

"What took you so long?" the GW asked. The Comet that had brought Arty here gesticulated and chattered wildly, but only earned a stare in response. He stopped mid-sentence (presumably) and shrugged. His team mate smiled and shook her cannon as she turned to Arty.  
"I'm sorry for the…unusual circumstances. I suppose next time I should make sure that your actual escort doesn't… _delegate_ his duty to our dear Bob if explaining is required" she said and threw a sharp side-glance to a nearby KV-13. Despite him stubbornly raising his cannon, he seemed to shrink under her gaze.

"It's okay" Arty said with a shy smile. She wasn't scared per se…just a little confused and intimidated.  
"Please allow me to introduce myself ~" the GW Panther said with a nod of her cannon. "My name is Scarlett. I am…well, not the leader of this team, but-"  
Another SPG finished the sentence for her.  
"-she might as well call herself that."  
Arty's gaze fell on the sand brown tank that had just spoken. His appearance was…unusual, to say the least. The hull looked perfectly normal, but for some reason the huge cannon on top of it was facing backwards. The superstructure around it was made of seemingly chaotically arranged looking bars and cables. She stared at him for a bit longer until Scarlett's smooth voice shifted her attention back to the GW Panther.  
"You flatter me, darling" she said with a small chuckle. "But in any case- What's  _your_  name, little one?"

"I'm Arty" the Sturmpanzer said. Scarlett nodded.  
"Ah. Have you ever thought about choosing your own name?" she asked.  
"My…own?" Arty blinked in confusion. "It's my own."  
"Well, but I assume it was given to you?"  
"Yeah but…I like it. It's okay."

"I used to be called Arty too" a small, boxy SPG piped up, and he sounded really proud of himself until the team's Pershing added a snorted "And now you're Shorty".  
The small SPG laughed, but it didn't sound like he found the other's words funny at all.  
"Kiriak….it's Kiriak" he mumbled quietly.  
Scarlett didn't seem to be paying attention to the banter.  
"It was brought to my attention that you spent quite some time watching our team earlier, so I wondered if you maybe wanted to come and join us at the campfire" she said, flicking her collar in a cheeky wink.  
Arty felt caught and lowered her cannon in embarrassment. It was true – she had watched them, but of course she had been too awkward to actually approach a group full of strangers. She hadn't been aware however that someone had noticed her longing stares.  
"I'd love to" she said sheepishly.

After some more introductions had been made, and Arty had received a can of fuel, most of the other tanks had eventually continued their own conversations. One of them had started to play some music. Some of them still seemed to pay attention to the newcomer. The GW Panther had shifted closer to Arty, sitting right next to her now.

"There's another reason why I brought you here" Scarlett said, "Besides just wanting to get to know you."  
Arty tilted her cannon. She had a suspicion, but knew that it was most likely not the case. Getting invited to an all artillery team as an SPG would almost give one the impression that they could maybe want her to join them. But…that would be too fantastic. Arty didn't even need to be able to identify all of these tanks to know that she was way too low tiered for them. And in no way did she want to make it seem like she was conceited enough to expect anything of the sort. So, pokerface expression it was.

The GW Panther smiled at her. "You remind me a lot of my sister. She used to look just like you when she and I were still Sturmpanzers. But judging by what I've seen of you so far, you have a far better personality than her." Scarlett chuckled and shook her cannon. "I haven't heard from her in years. I wonder if she's still alive. We always had a lot of arguments. She always had something to criticize about me - the way I acted, the way I looked. We eventually fell out and I haven't seen her since. The main reason for that was that we also had our differences when it came to our goals. She only cared about herself and thought that everyone should have to cater to her whims. Now, don't get me wrong, I am in no way, selfless…but I know my limits. And I am content with life's little pleasures, whereas she wanted far too much. She was only interested in fame and power. We founded this team together. At first it seemed like we wanted the same. The idea was to pick up young, lone SPGs and form a team like those in the past. All we had to do was to teach them, and it worked out great for a while. We quickly became a very formidable…very feared team. And I was as happy as I could be with that. But she wanted more, and as I made it clear to her that no one shared that wish, she threw a fit and left. Or I threw her out rather…a bit of both, I guess. Not all of us here get along with each other, but what keeps us working together is that we all have this shared goal. Well…part of us does, I guess. But those other personal goals happen to coincide with it, and that seems to work too."

Arty took a thoughtful sip of her fuel.  
"I think what you're doing is…it's really great" she murmured. "I wish there were more teams like yours."  
"You could be part of it" the GW Panther purred. Arty was convinced that she must have heard that wrong.  
"I uh…what?" she stammered. Scarlett laughed.  
"Not now, of course. But maybe…once you tiered up to a Hummel…" She trailed off.  
Arty couldn't even stop herself from nodding as fast as her gun traverse allowed.  
"That would be awesome!"  
Scarlett gave her a secret smile and sighed. "Believe me, if I could, I would take you right away" she said, "And not only you. It pains me to see young and promising SPGs getting ruined by what they call 'training' nowadays."

The Sturmpanzer didn't have to articulate her confusion; her blank expression gave it away already. Scarlett gave her a sympathetic look.  
"They don't tell the stories anymore, do they? You see, we SPGs...We used to be feared. There was a time when having artillery in your team would mean a granted victory. We were desired, valuable...Respected. One word from the commander, and we would rain down hell on our enemies until scorched earth was all that was left of them. Five and more SPGs on a team were a common sight."

"But then things changed. As artillery increased in numbers, soon every team had them at their command, and the nature of battles changed so dramatically that other tanks started becoming obsolete. Your heavy armor meant as little as your nimbleness or your years of experience. There was no escape from the death from above, and unless you could surprise your opponents, every match would either end in the complete obliteration of one side or a stalemate."

"On top of that, the SPGs had started to become aware of their power, and they no longer felt compelled to listen to any commander. Many seized control of their teams and treated their former comrades as lesser creatures - cannon fodder. As you can probably imagine, it was only a question of time until the other tanks started to rise up against this new way of life. They started to look for like-minded ones, and they found them. They made plans. They murdered their artillery. It started with only a couple of teams, but as others heard about it, more and more followed. Sisters, brothers, children,...no longer. All slaughtered in a matter of days. Skypigs, pests, was what they were from that day on. They called it the Great Purge, their liberation. A mass killing, celebrated. Even a lot of SPGs helped. Those who weren't killed were reduced to the lowest of scum, constantly reminded of how lucky they were and how grateful they had to be that they were spared. Many got pressured into changing classes, resulting in even more deaths as they had never learned to be anything else but an SPG."

"Our darkest time had come. The remaining SPGs were intimidated and meek. Only thinking about upgrading to artillery was considered almost obscene. It wasn't considered a 'real' class anymore. This went on for many years, until the new generations of tanks took over and the memories of the glory days of the SPGs started to fade. Slowly, our numbers grew again, but we weren't the same anymore. With no proper training and no one to look up to, the young SPGs of today are only sad caricatures of what this class once used to be."

Arty nodded, a gloomy expression taking over her features. She had thought the she had it bad, but hearing about the past now made her own struggles feel insignificant in comparison. Not to mention that there was this feeling of loss, the saddening realization that there was so much she had missed – and that would never come back. Scarlett of course noticed her defeated mood and lifted up the Sturmpanzer's cannon with a smile.

"There's no need to be depressed, little one. There are still brothers and sisters left who weren't broken. And there's still hope for the newer generations. We'll repair the damage that has been done, and we will rise again to our old strength and status. We'll bring back those old days, eventually. Not I. Probably not even you. But everything starts out small, and maybe we'll see more artillery teams again one day. All we can do until then is contribute our part."

After politely declining the invitation to stay for the night, the Sturmpanzer left the other team's campfire to sneak back to her own. Her mind was still spinning from all that new information, and the intoxicating admiration she felt. Mental images of her becoming as great and skilled as those SPGs one day made her feel so excited that she could barely think straight. If only she could join that team right away...! But it was even more incense now to tier up quickly. Once she was a Hummel-

She returned to reality quite abruptly as she drove into someone. A very heavy someone, as the other tank didn't even flinch while the Sturmpanzer outright bounced back.  
"O-ow..." she mumbled and looked up. Eject was staring back at her, his expression even sterner than usual.  
"Arty. We have to talk."

The SPG tilted her cannon with confusion - and slight concern. Where did  _he_  come from? Was she in trouble? Eject nodded to their left and she followed him as he took her aside.  
Once they had reached a more secluded spot, the T29 stopped and turned towards her.  
For a moment there was an unnerving silence, then he slowly began to speak. He cut to the chase right away.

"I overheard that GW Panther talking to you. You shouldn't listen to her. What she says is pure phantasm and that way of thinking is dangerous. Artillery must know their place. People may be slowly forgetting, but there's enough left who remember very well, and if she keeps talking like that she will get herself killed eventually...The old times are over and they will never come back, so you shouldn't waste your time thinking about it. I can teach you all you need to know, you'll become a good enough SPG."

Arty's elevated mood crumbled and she dropped her gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [New, updated character cheat sheet!](http://s14.directupload.net/images/140901/u6p4hugi.jpg)


	43. Goals

The next morning, all hell broke loose. The sun had barely risen when all of a sudden, multiple explosions shook the ground and woke up every single tank by a conditioned response to cannon fire. Some started running around like headless chickens trying to locate a threat, others made sure first that no one was hurt, while barrage after barrage also ensured that no one could have possibly fallen back asleep. Eventually, the majority had realized that they weren't actually being attacked, and the source of the deafening assault on their nerves was found as well.

The Rainmakers were having a training session not far away.

There was yelling and annoyed expressions all around, but every effort to ask the artillery team to kindly 'stop the fucking noise already' were denied by their mediums stating that this was neutral territory and that no one was forced to stay here if the ambient noise wasn't to their liking.

"I fucking  _hate_  arty!" Fox cried, his turret buried underneath bags and tarp in an ineffective attempt to drown out the noise. "First they stay up and party all night and then this! Did they even sleep at all? Do they not need sleep?!"  
Eject did his best to ignore both his team mate and the insufferable noise, although he was pretty close to go and join Rex who had already gone to deliver death threats to the artillery team's mediums. Sky had followed him to keep him from doing that, but no one knew how successful she was being with it.

Meanwhile, Eohelm had done what he had deemed the most sensible thing – he had grabbed the rest of the tanking league and temporarily left the camp to find a quieter spot until the whole ordeal was over. Tate and Fang had tagged along after them.  
Arty, on the other hand, had made her way to the training ground to watch the exercise. Normally, such an amount of noise would have bothered her as well, but this was a special case. Sighing, she watched the SPGs fire and the impact of the shells. She noticed how fast they were able to reload, and while she didn't know what the reload times of the other artillery pieces present were, she could tell for sure that the GW Panther was much quicker than Arty had been told they were. She assumed that this had to be part of the 'proper' training Scarlett had told her about.

It went on for a full twenty minutes. Arty watched as it looked like the SPGs complimented each other on their performance and then trekked back to their temporary base. The angry mob started to disperse as well, and the Sturmpanzer spotted two of her team mates in the small crowd. They approached her, presumably to pick her up.  
"Hey Arty," Sky said as she and Rex reached the SPG, "You keep looking so fucking sad whenever you see those guys. What's up with that?"  
Arty gave her a surprised look and straightened her posture. "Oh…uhm….do I? I think my cannon just looks like that…" she mumbled. Sky tilted her cannon, but didn't pursue the topic.  
"Anyway, come on. We gotta get ready to leave. Since we're all awake already I think we might as well get a move on" she said, "Can't wait for this god damn travel to be over already."  
Rex nodded in agreement. It had never taken them so long to go and visit their allies before.

As they returned to the camp, they started to prepare themselves to leave almost immediately. Eohelm and his little group returned soon after and joined the preparations.

Awol got help from his fellow German SPG with some fuel cans. The Sturmpanzer had peeked at him a couple of times as if she wanted to say something, but remained quiet. Awol didn't ask her about it and pretended he didn't see it, although he did wonder what she might have been thinking. They were almost finished and it seemed like Arty had given up and moved on, but then she turned her gun towards him.  
"Did they ask you too?" she asked with no context. Her tone was casual.  
The Wespe shook his cannon in surprise.  
"What?"

As if she had something to hide, Arty wiggled closer to him and lowered her voice.  
"Well…those guys from the artillery team" she said. "They asked me if I wanted to join their team….sometime."  
"And what did you say?"  
Arty's gaze dropped. "I was gonna say yes but I'm not so sure now" she said quietly.  
Awol nodded and they started making their way to the others. Most of them were ready and waiting already. The other teams had also started to pack their things and were leaving as well.  
"They did ask me too" the Wespe hummed, "But I want to stay with Sky so I told them no."  
"Maybe Sky could-" Arty started – beaming with excitement for a second –, but she fell silent as Awol smiled at her and slowly shook his cannon. She sighed.  
"I know, I know…" she said.

The next stage of their journey was pretty much eventless; as they had hoped the entirety of it would be. It was somewhat demotivating nevertheless when they finally found a road sign that also displayed the distance to Ruinberg…which was no less than a hundred fifty kilometers still. There were some exasperated voices among the tanking league that stated that they had ended up even farther away than they had been when they had left Himmelsdorf. In a different direction nevertheless, but no one was really thrilled about an extra ten hours of travel either way. But at least they weren't in a rush anymore; they didn't have a dying team mate in tow and the fuel would be enough for more than a couple of days.

Just after they had taken a small break around midday, there had been an actual attack of a hostile team. No one had seen them coming, but shortly after the fight had broken out, it seemed like the strangers had realized that they were facing more than just one team at once and had made a very rushed escape.  
But other than that, things were going well. Some roads were unusable after the storm so they had to take detours, but overall they made good progress…until Eohelm started falling behind.

At first it was only a shortness of breath, which he tried to shrug off as simple exhaustion. But it got worse so quickly that the insight what it was came too late already for him to do anything about it. It felt like a blanket of unnaturally thick air had enveloped him like invisible mist, nevertheless keeping him from seeing through it clearly as he tried to focus on his surroundings, his team mates. These team mates had started to diffuse into the flashes of the sun's light hitting and reflecting off their armor, blinding him further as they danced in front of his optics like sparks in the most dazzling ways. A mirage?

The vegetation seemed to fade and blend into an ocean of indistinct shapes and he was drowning in its solidified waves that seemed to grow into mountains that he couldn't possibly hope to climb. He tried to look around for anyone who could still be near him, but even the act of turning his turret made him even dizzier as it felt like it was swaying with that ocean despite being anchored firmly in its socket. His gaze tumbled back to where he had seen the distance between him and the others increase. He could barely see them anymore now. Why didn't they turn around? Why didn't they notice that he wasn't keeping up? An attempt to call them only brought forth a hoarse croak, and it was quiet,  _way_  too quiet to be heard. He wanted to try the other thing he could think of – his radio – but it still didn't work.

Now the unbearably heavy veil that had so firmly wrapped itself around his view ports like an invisible blindfold started to cover him fully and tightened until it was squeezing his breath right out of his vents. And while his mind still gave the command to move forward, the strained roar of his engine died down to a stutter as smoke shot out of his vents and engine deck with a hiss. He rolled forward a bit further from that little momentum he had left from his crawl, then stopped completely.  
' _A break…just a little break_ ' he thought faintly, ' _Please wait for me, please, please'_.

For the longest time no one noticed. The TDs had been the first ones to realize that something was wrong with the medium tank as even they passed him by. Tate had watched him struggle for a while, wondering what could possibly cause him to lag behind farther and farther. In response to the Ferdinand pointing it out to his brother, Fang had wanted to make a bet how much longer their temporary team mate would last, but without Siren around there wasn't really anyone to bet against since Tate preferred to stay out of that kind of thing. But they didn't say anything to the others, and the Centurion was out of sight already when the other tanks finally realized as well that they were losing one of their friends.

They turned around. The heavies – being the ones who usually were in the back of the convoy – were able to locate him rather quickly and reached him first. The rest of the Tanking League arrived quickly as well, and they gathered around him. Everyone talked across each other, discussing and asking what was wrong and how they could help, until a harsh "SHH" from Fox made everyone fall silent and actually listen to Eohelm's reply.  
"I don't-…." he panted, "…engine, it's-…my engine…"  
Smoke was still coming through every gap of his armor.  
"He's overheating. Maybe something to do with his vents" Fox said after gauging the Centurion's hull's temperature with his own. "Maybe coolant. He'll have to cool down or he's not going anywhere. And does anyone have any water?"  
Arty raised her cannon and offered one of the remaining canisters she was always carrying around.  
"So, another break?" Pepper asked tentatively. His gaze drifted into the distance where the other teams were moving on and disappearing from sight.  
"No way around it I guess, unless someone can tow him" Fox replied. "But even with a break I wouldn't be too sure if we wouldn't have to anyway."  
Eohelm said something, but his voice was too weak. They had to listen closely to make out any words.  
"Just…a moment…..be fine….."  
Just as he had started finished speaking, a new cloud of steam burst from his hull.  
"I don't think so" Eject added soberly. Eohelm's cannon sank in defeat.

There was a loud "Ugh" coming from one of the TDs.  
"Oh great…as if we needed any more fucking distractions" the Jagdpanther growled, "Just leave him behind or some-"  
More than one gun being pointed at him suddenly made him fall silent. Their newest team member – Jack – looked from the German TD to the other tanks and back to the Jagdpanther, then shrugged and pointed his gun at him too.

Tate silently inched between his brother and the rest of the team to block each party's view on the other. That seemed to work, because everyone focused on their medium again.  
"Let's take a break…anyway, and then we'll decide who's going to tow him" Sky spoke up, and the others agreed.

Eject gave the Centurion a scrutinizing look.  
"You should turn off your engine," he murmured, "It could be something serious, we can't know. Or don't you remembered what happened to-"  
"I do," Eohelm said quietly.

As they marched on after a couple of hours, it turned out that one of the teams had waited for them – the Rainmakers. It seemed like the artillery team considered them as allies of sorts already. While not the whole Tanking League shared that sentiment, it was still convenient at least to have them at their side in case the hostile team from earlier that day or another one decided to start another attempt at an attack. Allies who were part-time jerks (or, full-time jerks like the Pershing) were good enough for that purpose.

Eohelm was feeling a little better and could drive on his own again, but now they made sure to constantly keep an optic on him. It seemed that whatever his injury was, it at least wasn't immediately life-threatening. Ruinberg wasn't far anymore. The kilometer count on the road signs slowly decreased, but it became apparent that they wouldn't reach the town before nightfall. It was the reason why they decided to make one last stop. The knowledge that it would only be a couple more hours of driving the morning after had dramatically increased the general mood, which was why no one really minded another final break.

Arty's mood, on the other hand, was subdued as she approached the other team again that night. Like before, they were gathered around their campfire, the mediums taking turns in patrolling the immediate surroundings. Arty saw their Pershing, but he paid no attention to her as he passed her by. She looked after him, assuming that this meant she was allowed to pass, and as she turned back around, the tank she had actually been looking for was already standing in front of her.

"What's the matter, darling? Are you going to join us again tonight?" Scarlett asked with a smile. The Sturmpanzer shuffled about on her tracks, looking at the ground.  
"Uh, actually…I just came to say that I think I won't be joining your team after all…" she mumbled. The other SPG raised her cannon in surprise.  
"Oh? Why's that?" she asked. Arty fidgeted even more.  
"Well, ehr…" She trailed off.

Scarlett shook her cannon. "Ah, where are my manners? Why don't you tell me over a can of fuel?"

That was an offer Arty was quite okay with, and only shortly after she sat amidst the artillery team, slurping fuel while telling them about her trouble. Scarlett was parked next to her and patted the Sturmpanzer consolingly.  
"They said I shouldn't…that it's a bad idea," Arty mumbled, looking at the fire.  
"Why would they say that?" Scarlett asked softly.  
"Well uh…actually only Eject did, I guess…but I think the others would agree…"  
"Who's Eject?"  
Arty finished her fuel, but didn't look up.  
"He helps me with training."  
The other SPG tilted her cannon thoughtfully.  
"Is he the Wespe?" she asked.  
"Oh no! He's- a T29…!"

"High octane?" a FV304 to Arty's right suddenly asked with a grin. She recognized him as-…the little guy…what was his name? Shorty? But before she could even say yes, he already shared with her.  
"Thank you" the Sturmpanzer said sheepishly.  
"A heavy tank training an SPG…that's unheard of" Scarlett chuckled.  
Arty almost went ahead and explained that he used to be an SPG himself at some point, but stopped herself as she remembered that this was possibly private information. Maybe she had already said too much? She just ended up mumbling a cryptic "He…knows a lot."

One can of high octane became many, and as Scarlett left the fire, Arty was already too caught up with celebrating nothing in particular with the artillery team to even notice that the GW Panther was gone.

Eject was looking forward to a good night's rest. The whole constantly being on the move and around other teams and new team mates thing was more draining than he had hoped, and especially the artillery team was bothering him more than he wanted to admit. He couldn't help but wonder if that GW Panther was somehow related to his team's dead one, because they appeared to be similarly delusional. Either that, or there was some kind of minimum zealotism requirement for tiering up to GWs that he didn't know about.

The heavy had picked a spot that was somewhat separated from the main camping area by small hills and some bushes, not too close to the other tanks. Most of them were still awake, and he wanted his peace for once. With a sigh, he got comfortable, turned his turret around and locked his cannon. But then he noticed that he wasn't as alone as he had thought. From the darkness around him, a tank emerged. As it got closer, he recognized the silhouette of the GW Panther.

"Sneaking up on a heavy tank's back?" he asked, sizing her up warily.  
"I would not call it sneaking up if his cannon is facing that way" she responded with a smile. Eject decided right away that he wasn't going to trust that smile. He laboriously traversed his hull around to face his visitor before he replied.  
"What do you want?"

The GW Panther shrugged her collar.  
"I just got curious who this mysterious SPG expert on your team could be, so I decided to go see for myself…" she purred, "And I have to admit that I am pretty surprised…to find a T29."

Eject narrowed his view ports. "What do you  _really_  want?"

He figured that there was no point in even trying to find out where she had gotten her info from. (Although he had a faint idea.) Scarlett drove closer and gave his hull a couple of scrutinizing looks. As she resumed looking him into the optics again and spoke, there was a knowing smirk in her voice.  
"You seem to have this negative opinion of us and I wondered why. It occurred to me that maybe a little bonding experience could fix this. I was thinking that I could try to help you with…reconsidering your views. You and I, we could have a little talk, share some stories,…refresh your memory."

"My memory?" Eject asked, not sure what exactly she was trying to imply. The GW Panther smirked.

"Which one was it? The M37? Or did you make it to the 41 in time before they converted you?" she asked, and her ability to either guess well or put two and two together caught him off guard. The heavy stared at her silently for a moment, unable to completely hide his bewilderment. However, she was wrong about a certain detail. His expression turned aloof again. Either way, this wasn't a topic he was keen on discussing. Not with the GW anyway.  
"Neither, and it doesn't matter."

"I think it does" Scarlett replied calmly, "After all you are training a Sturmpanzer, and don't you think that every tank has the right to receive the best training possible?"  
The T29 averted his gaze and remained silent for a long time.  
"It's for her best. For everyone's best" Eject eventually mumbled. The GW Panther's expression turned complacent. She shook her cannon.  
Eject just stared straight ahead, still refusing to look at her and still giving off the general impression of a brick wall.

"What are you afraid of?" her voice asked from his peripheral vision.  
"I was _there_ " he growled. Scarlett snorted and rolled into his field of view again to give him a teasing side glance.  
"So was I. What of it?"  
Instead of doing her the favor of reacting to her attitude in any way she would probably expect him to, he turned to glare at her.  
"Things are better the way they are now. Artillery was never meant to be this powerful, the measures were necessary" he replied frigidly.  
The SPG turned towards him fully again with another shrug of her collar, and he lowered his cannon in a display of defensive stubbornness.  
"Oh, my poor mislead heavy. You really  _do_ think that you're doing her a favor, don't you? What did they do to you to make you this brainwashed?" she asked, her voice a commiserating purr. "It's such a shame," the SPG sighed. "Personally, I think every cannon should be used to its full potential."

Eject looked at her; then he turned his hull back to its original resting position. "And  _I_  think you should leave now" he replied.  
For the first time in the whole conversation, it seemed like he had managed to baffle her in return. But she covered it up almost instantly.  
"Very well" she said, "Have a pleasant night. Think about my words."  
She gave him one last smile before she turned around and presumably returned to her own team. Eject frowned as he watched her leave. "I've had enough of you Panthers for a couple of years at least" he mumbled to himself as she was gone already.

Arty's awakening was a rather rough one. The smoke from the dead campfire was too thick, the breeze too nippy, and the morning sun too bright. Groaning, she looked at the tanks around her – they were still asleep – and realized with a start that those weren't her actual team mates. The general absence of noise and uproar at least told her that the others hadn't started a frantic search for a missing Sturmpanzer yet. She would have been mortified otherwise.

Her next objective was to sneak through the labyrinth of resting hulls between her and her own team. But before her tracks could even complete one full rotation, she was held back.  
"Leaving already?" Scarlett asked.  
The lower tier SPG spun around with an abashed reflex "Ehr-".  
Scarlett laughed and nudged her.  
"You're free to go. However I wanted to say goodbye before you do. The rest of my team is in a different direction than where you are headed."  
Now Arty's expression crumbled to a wistful one. She had tried to come to terms with the fact that the artillery team was going to part ways with them again soon, but the knowledge that the parting would be permanent on top of that didn't make it easy for her.  
"They're my friends…" she said quietly.  
The GW Panther tilted her cannon with a small smile.  
"If you change your mind, you'll find us. My offer still stands," she said and silenced Arty's protest before the Sturmpanzer could even do so much as start speaking.  
"Don't worry, child. We don't hide. You'll hear about us if you ask about us. You'll find us if you look for us."  
Arty nodded solemnly and turned to leave.

On the short way back to the Tanking League, the Sturmpanzer realized that she had completely forgotten that no matter how quiet she would have been, she would have been seen anyway because both teams had nominated guards. (And it was probably silly to assume this, but it almost seemed as if said guards were more occupied with watching out for each other than for outside threats.) Both guards – Bob the Comet on the Rainmaker's side and Fox on the Tanking League's side – however only looked amused at the sight of a Sturmpanzer trying to be sneaky as she rolled from one team to the other after being mysteriously gone the whole night.

With the whole team complete again and everyone slowly waking up (or being woken up, in some cases), the Tanking League was finally ready to take on the final part of their travel. There was a brief, formal farewell to the Rainmakers, who – true to Scarlett's words – were taking another route from that point on.

Soon, they passed a road sign that stated the distance as three kilometers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [What actually happened.](http://artyrambles.tumblr.com/post/98186138622/its-canon)


	44. Ruinberg

"How are you feeling?" Pepper asked with a searching look.  
Eohelm nodded. "I'll live" he said, "But I sure do hope that they'll be able to fix my modules…"  
The Leopard tilted his turret at the defeated tone.  
"Of course, why shouldn't they?" he asked, his voice upbeat not because he was so convinced that there was no way that anything bad could happen anymore – especially not after the amount of disaster they had already been through in such a short time span – but he didn't like to see his friend so downcast.

Suddenly Eohelm stopped dead in his tracks. Pepper stopped immediately as well and gave the other medium an utterly concerned look.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, scrutinizing the Centurion's hull for any signs of the engine damage taking its toll again.  
"When did you try to contact the Ruinberg team the last time?" Eohelm's voice sounded tense all of a sudden.  
Pepper frowned. "Twenty minutes ago or something like that, they didn't answ-"  
The other tank shook his turret and cut him off.  
"I think I know why" he said gravely. Pepper stared at him in complete confusion; then he slowly turned his turret to face the same way Eohelm's did.

They had just crested a hill, and Ruinberg laid before them now. Thick, black clouds of smoke ascended from countless fires inside it and blocked out the sun above it. The fields around it were riddled with destroyed tanks. Normally, a team would take care of disposing of at least the majority of corpses around their base, but here, they were almost piling up in some places and some even overgrown by vegetation, creating a macabre maze.

Behind Eohelm and Pepper, the rest of the Tanking League started popping up as well. Every conversation that had been going on was silenced as the sight of the burning town unfolded before their optics.  
It didn't take long until all of the rest of the team had arrived. Not a single one of them looked like they wanted to believe their optics.

"Tactics time…" the Centurion said quietly, giving the cue for them to stay on the hills for now and work out a plan before doing anything else.  
No one really wanted to be the first to go and find out if anything at all was still alive in there (and possibly hostile).  
"Someone will have to" Eohelm said as there was a distinct lack of volunteers, but everyone seemed to be looking at someone else. Except for Eject, who looked him in the optics firmly.  
"I'll go" he said.  
"Wait-!" Pepper intervened, "Don't you think it would make more sense to send someone who's a little more mobile?"

"I'll help him!" a voice from the back row suddenly said. Several turrets and cannons turned, but Sky was the first one to react.  
"Absolutely not!" she said and gave the Leichttraktor that had just spoken up a stern glare.  
"Why not?" Noob said. His cannon was raised defiantly. "Eohelm said I'm a good scout-"  
Said Centurion mumbled a quick "One day…!" but Noob didn't seem to be paying attention to him.  
"I can do the job just as well as you others can and also…"  
He paused for a moment, looking at the ground.  
"…and also I'm the most expendable."  
Sky shook her turret furiously and Awol took Noob aside to start talking quietly, yet insistently to him.  
"There has to be another way," Sky said, " None of us is fucking 'expendable'."  
She threw a look into the crowd, hoping for approval, but in fact what the Leichttraktor had said was what a lot of them had been thinking. It wasn't anything against him personally, but his argument was rational in a very sad way.

Finally, Eject spoke again.  
"I'd take him with me," he said pensively, "He's the best choice we have in this situation. Everyone is either not in a fighting condition, or too valuable, tier wise. And all of us going in at once is insanity."  
Sky was about to launch into another objection, but Eohelm was faster.  
"They'd have fire support from us…if something goes wrong we'd probably be able to act in time."  
He said the "probably" really quietly, but Sky picked up on it nevertheless.  
Noob however had somehow managed to escape from Awol and chimed back in.

"It's my own decision" he said. Sky huffed through her vents angrily, but then her expression grew softer, almost defeated.  
"Of course it is" she admitted quietly; then she addressed the others again, "But is there really no other option than this? It just screams trap to me, and maybe if we look for a while, we could find another team's base to raid."  
"We might not have 'a while'. And we also won't stand a chance against another proper team. It's do this, starve, or try to find some seals to club before option two happens" Fox sighed, saying something for the first time in the conversation.

"Let's try pro and contra" Eohelm suggested. "Let's assume no one's in there and our two volunteers do not meet a gruesome, untimely end…Maybe whatever team occupied this town last left their belongings behind. If they all got killed or if they had to leave in a hurry we might find some fuel."  
"Unless whoever killed or defeated them took everything with them" Fox added.  
Pepper joined the brainstorming as well. "Ruinberg's big. Also even if the team we knew is long gone, it's possible that there's still supplies left in secret stores. We knew the team, we know places that those others probably didn't."

Before anyone else could continue the discussion, Eject sighed loudly and with such exasperation that the rest of the tanks fell silent for a moment.  
"Or, how about we stop wasting time and get it over with already" he said. Noob looked at him and nodded in agreement. The faster they could get this done, the better.

The two of them made their way towards the town in silence. Noob was on edge, constantly looking out for anything that was still alive and could attack them. Just like the whole town, some of the wrecks were still smoking, giving off the impression that a fight must have happened only recently.

On this side of the town, only one road was leading through the labyrinth. They took it, advancing slowly; carefully. The Leichttraktor was leading the way, and he had quickly realized that his heroic determination had started melting away once he had actually reached the wrecks and driven right between them. They were towering to each side of him, and he expected them to come back to life and attack any second.

"Maybe...maybe this wasn't a good idea after all..." he said, "It's really damn creepy here..."  
Eject snorted.  
"I'll take creepy over starving every day" he replied.  
"Aren't you at least a little bit scared...?"  
This time the T29 didn't bother answering. His turret was facing the other way, his gaze intently scanning their surroundings. Being taller, he had a somewhat easier time seeing past the broken down tanks around them than his companion.  
Noob couldn't even see how far their destination was still away since this maze seemed endless. But said destination seemed scarier with every meter he covered, so the thought of not arriving there didn't sound all bad.

"What if there's really someone in there who wants to kill us?" Noob asked with a frown.  
"We'd be dead by now already" Eject muttered, "Now shhh!"

The Leichttraktor fell silent and focused on his task again. It was a shame, since talking had helped him feel a little less nervous, but he supposed that Eject was right.

Along with the others who had stayed behind, Arty was occupying the hill crests. They had made sure to spread out to cover most angles. From up here they had a somewhat unobstructed view on their two advancing team mates, but every now and then they vanished from their view; some of the wrecks were taller than others, and the thick columns of smoke obscured them when the wind changed directions.

The SPGs had a slightly clearer view, and while Awol - who could see farther - made sure to cover as much of the area as he possibly could, Arty was trying to take care of Eject's and Noob's closer surroundings. Two things were giving her trouble with that. Firstly, as they were getting further and further away, it was getting harder to see. And secondly, she had underestimated the effects of getting next to no sleep the night before. She yawned, but in the time it took her to do that, she lost sight of the two tanks she was supposed to watch. Her sights darted across the uniform pattern of dead tanks as she hurried to find them again. It got caught by a duo that looked like it could be them, but as she focused again it was just a bulky, turretless hull that remotely resembled a T29, next to an equally motionless Pz.III/IV.

However she didn't have to look any further, as she noticed movement not far away from those. Shifting her sights, she was relieved to see her team mates again. They were still moving forward steadily and would soon reach the first buildings. Arty remained still as they crossed her sights. Another yawn made her lose her focus involuntarily yet again, and as her vision cleared up, she only caught a glimpse of the two of them leaving her field of view. And then there was something else...She could have sworn she had noticed something else move, but the scene seemed to be the same. With a frown she gave the two wrecks she had been looking at previously another look. Hadn't the Panzer's turret been facing the other way?

Arty frowned and looked closer, but nothing was moving at all, even as she stared at it for several seconds. Maybe she was mistaken.  
"Something moved close to you...I think...I'm not sure. Could be nothing. Be careful?" she informed the others over the radio, just in case.

"Can you be a little more specific?" Eject asked in return. Looking back now as he drove, he bumped into Noob who had outright stopped, but pushed him along nonchalantly until the Leichttraktor started moving on his own again. They had finally made it to the town's border, but really that was just exchanging one dangerous area for another. Especially since now they couldn't count on fire support from their team mates anymore.

«I don't...I don't know. I think I imagined it» Arty responded. She sounded like she wasn't sure anymore if she should have said anything at all.  
«Don't lose your nerves now, just stay alert» Eohelm intervened.  
"That's easy to say when you're up there...!" Noob complained.

A rustling sound to their left made both tanks twitch and Eject stopped and pointed his cannon at the source of the noise, ready to fire indiscriminately. A shred of what looked like canvas was being dragged across the ground by the wind, and disappeared between the wrecks, gone as fast as it had appeared. Noob was peeking out from behind his team mate with anxious curiousity.

"It's nothing, move on" Eject said slowly, "You watch our front and I watch our backs."

Much slower than before now, they continued following the main road. Everything still looked abandoned and dead, and even here it was littered with wrecks. Eject had to push some of them aside as they completely blocked the road in some places.

"It doesn't look like someone's living here" Noob commented. He seemed more at ease now, as it was becoming more and more likely that his assumption was true the farther they made it.  
"The garages should be near" Eject said over the noise of his strained engine as he tried to move another T29. "If we get to them we'll know for sure."

"They look a bit like barricades" Noob mused after observing Eject's endeavor for a while longer. Especially where they were right now it almost looked like the wrecks had been arranged in a way especially to make it hard to push them aside. He overheard the other tank cursing under his breath, the obvious reason for that being that the other T29 wasn't moving in the slightest despite his efforts. Its side was facing Eject, and on both ends multiple rows of other wrecks were wedged between it and the buildings. Noob backed up and drove to and fro in an attempt to get a better view on what was on the other side of the blockade.

"I think there's another tank right behind it" he said, craning his gun, "Either that or a big pile of rubble."  
Eject shook his turret and backed up.  
"I'm wasting too much fuel here. Let's find another way."

That other way lead them through a series of narrow alleys. Eject had no trouble navigating through Ruinberg in theory, after all he knew the town well, but this hardly resembled the town he had once known. The buildings around him were hardly recognizable. Not that they hadn't been ruins before – the town wasn't called Ruinberg for nothing – but its destruction had dramatically advanced since he had last seen it. He cautiously peeked around a corner, and was relieved to see another main road. This one even was less cramped with dead tanks. He motioned at Noob to follow him and drove out onto the street while giving the others a status update that he and the Leichttraktor were still alive and well.  
Apparently they had coerced Arty into taking a nap and let Awol watch the town's border instead. He said that since he had taken over, nothing had been moving at all, except for some birds that were hopping around between the wrecks now.

"We should be done here in a bit, so far everything looks good" Eject concluded his report. He didn't want to be optimistic too soon, but for once things really looked good. Well, they could be better, but not meeting a hostile (and obscenely powerful, from what the whole town being a giant graveyard could almost make one believe) team was a good basis for further operations in the town.

The T29 slowed down as he noticed movement ahead of them. He squinted. Something small was moving across the square their street lead to before disappearing behind the wreck of an E100. Small, but too massive to be an animal. Eject could see through the hole in the wreck's turret that it had stopped there. He threw a side glance at Noob, who had obviously seen it too, as the Leichttraktor's posture had gone beyond tense.  
"Go," Eject hissed, feeling the need to remind his companion that  _he_  was still the designated scout, not a tourist. To his surprise, the light tank displayed an unexpected amount of bravery for a tier one and actually complied with the request right away, if tentatively. The little cannon was shaking as he inched forwards. Eject on the other hand reversed – just as cautiously – behind some debris, going hull-down just in case. He waited, gun trained on the mysterious shape on the other side of the E100.


	45. Skaian & Angler

Grey and brown, the GW Panther stood before her, her cannon trained right on the Sturmpanzer.   
“…Who- who are you?” Arty asked, and the other SPG shook her cannon.   
“Oh I see, I’m forgotten already! What a shame- I thought I’d left an impression!” the Panther said.

Arty’s optics widened. “You’re- you should be dead!” she gasped.   
“But am I?“  
“They killed you! You’re dead!” Arty shouted defensively. And yet here she was, the Panther, right there and talking to her.  
“You’re alive and therefore so am I! I’m a part of you, always was. Don’t we look the same? Don’t we have the same goals?”

Arty shook her cannon frantically and tried to run away, but the Panther caught up to her effortlessly. “Don’t you try to get away now - you know I’m right!”  
“No! I’ll never be like you! You tried to kill them all!”  
“And you would have done the same thing- oh wait, you did!”

A Stuart appeared in front of her, hull smoking, black, and frayed. Arty screamed and backed up, but the Panther spoke again, to her left now. “Will you deny it? You killed him, a team mate. You’re more of a team killer than I am!”  
“But it was an- an accident!”  
“You did it and you’d do it again, just you wait! Once a team killer, always a team killer! When you get older, you will understand that they’re all the same! All the same scum! Don’t you want to pay them back for all they did? For all the contempt, the way they treated you?”

"No," Arty said, "They are different! They will treat me well!"

The Panther laughed a hoarse, bitter laugh. “Just you wait. The moment you turn around, they call our kind pigs. Your precious friends as well! They’re the same, all the same! Scoffing at us, hating us…They forgot that they need us! All the things we do for them, and it’s never enough. Never once are they grateful…No, they treat us like a burden! Isn’t that what they did to you? A liability, merely  _tolerated_ , if at all. They forgot what our cannons can do… All you have to do is remind them!”  
“No!!” Arty cried, shaking her cannon again. Suddenly her treads were touching water, and looking down, she found that a pond had appeared in front of her.

"Look, look at yourself! Look and you’ll see what you really want, what you really are. You don’t believe me, but you know it’s true!"  
Arty’s gaze lingered, and from a sea of colors, her reflection slowly formed. But the German cross was painted over with a blue ‘x’, the mark of a team killer.

The Sturmpanzer gasped and the pond turned black, her optics darting across to a river of black oil that lead to a pile of destroyed tanks - her new team mates.

"It’s the only way, and you know it! You’re the one who’s different. Remember what you are! You’re an SPG, the lowest of scum…isn’t that what they call us? If that’s what we are to them, why not act accordingly?" the Panther asked.

Arty yelped. She shied back, and as she looked up again, it was Scarlett standing next to her, behind her lined up battery after battery of SPGs, their cannons lifted in a salute.  
Every single one was marked blue, and as the GW Panther gave the signal, they fired, and as the smoke lifted, blue was oozing from their barrels.

The Sturmpanzer woke up with a gasp. ‘ _I’m not a teamkiller…!_ ' she thought frantically.

"No idea."

A voice directed her attention to two tanks that were only a couple of meters away from her. Arty didn’t move but adjusted her sights, curious because she wasn’t opposed to taking her mind off her awful dream.   
“I swear he looks just like him.” Tate said, blissfully unaware that someone else except his brother was listening.   
“I didn’t know you had a cousin.” Fang replied with a frown. “What odd ass model is that anyway?”

Arty decided that it was time to show that she had stopped napping, and she cleared her vents noisily. If they were intending to seriously trash talk someone, then she wouldn’t sit there and just pretend she didn’t hear.  
Both TDs seemed to twitch. They probably weren’t used to being the ones who were surprised by another tank’s presence.   
“Miss Arty.” the Ferdinand said, sounding a bit puzzled.   
“…Good morning” Arty replied. She hadn’t learned anything from the last time they had spoken in terms of not being awkward around these two.

“Say,” Tate suddenly said and pointed at one of their heavy tanks that were resting nearby, "What is the name of this VK again?"  
The Sturmpanzer followed his look even though she already knew who he meant. “Rex” she said.   
“Rex, right…”  
“ _Herr_  Rex.” Fang added mockingly, now that he remembered their first encounter as well.

"You have rather…interesting team mates.” Tate mused. He obviously didn’t think she had heard them talking.   
“Right.” she replied, holding back a grin from her voice.

Noob took a deep breath through his vents. The wrecks were right in front of him now, and he could hear clattering noises on the other side. What was this tank doing…?  
Carefully, he turned around and rolled backwards, crawling towards the rear of the huge destroyed heavy next to him.  
 _Just a peek…._  
He craned his turret, wishing that he could look around corners without exposing his rear. The fact that he could angle it only soothed him slightly.   
‘ _I’m so dead_ ’ he thought, something that he thought much more frequently since he had joined his new best friend - the Wespe - only a couple of days ago. Not that he regretted joining him, but his life certainly had become more dangerous ever since.

He was prepared to see his short life flashing before his optics when he finally turned the corner.

What he saw was…unexpected. There was a tank, yes, but its back was facing him. It seemed to be poking around in the wrecks as if it was searching for something. And most importantly, it didn’t seem to notice Noob at all. Either that, or it didn’t care about the presence of a Leichttraktor. But hadn’t this guy seen Eject as well? It wasn’t like the T29 was too stealthy to be seen from where this mysterious stranger had crossed the square.

“You should leave” the other tank said all of a sudden, almost causing the Leichttraktor to scream.   
“W-What?” he asked.  
The stranger still hadn’t turned around. “All of you should leave” he repeated.

Eject strained to see what was going on at the wrecks. Noob wasn’t dead yet, so that was good, but neither was the other tank – who was still hidden behind the wrecks nevertheless. It somewhat looked like they were talking. Either that or Noob had another reason to stare intently at whoever was behind the corner.  
Just to make sure, the heavy tank slowly drove closer. ‘ _What’s going on?_ ’ he asked nonverbally over the radio.  
« _I’m not sure actually_ » Noob replied in kind.

‘ _Not helpful_ ,’ Eject thought, and then addressed the Leichttraktor again. ‘ _I’m coming over there._ ’

Having said that, the T29 started making his way towards the two others. What Noob thought about that decision remained a mystery as he didn’t respond this time. As he reached them, the stranger had already turned around and was facing the tanking league members. He didn’t seem surprised at the T29’s presence.

“None of you should be here” the stranger said – a standard olive green Chaffee with a stock turret by the looks of it. 

“Why?” Eject asked, “Is this your base?”  
The Chaffee shook his turret. “Doesn’t matter. It’s dangerous here. Don’t you know the stories?”  
Noob and Eject looked at each other, and Noob shrugged and shook his cannon.   
“No, not really” Eject said. “What I _do_ know is that a team who were our allies used to live here.”

Angler raised his cannon, then dropped it and looked past the two. “I thought Paige is spreading them?” he whispered angrily.   
The tanking league members looked behind them in surprise, where a Panzer III/IV had suddenly shown up.  
Skaian shrugged. “I thought  _you_  are.”  
“I don’t ever leave this place, how am I supposed to spread rumors?” the Chaffee cried.

Now both Eject and Noob couldn’t really believe what they were seeing; two dorks in the middle of this scary deserted town.  
The Chaffee sighed and looked at the newcomers again.   
“This is a ghost town. It’s haunted. Everyone who comes here dies.”  
“Since when??” Eject asked. It couldn’t have been for longer than a couple of years. The last time the T29 had been in Ruinberg, there had been no weird talk about ghosts.

The Panzer III/IV shrugged. “For a while. It just started one day, and now every once in a while a ghost team appears and kills everyone. The last time was only this morning, and no one knows when they will attack next. Better take your team and get out of here before it’s too late.”  
“What about you? Why are you here?” Noob asked.   
“We just pick up what’s left. Our base is…somewhere else.” the Chaffe replied secretively.  
Noob perked up. “Can you take us there? We’re kinda stranded and really need repairs!”  
Skaian and the Chaffee shook their turrets. “Not possible, sorry” they said in unison.   
“It’s urgent” Eject added.

It somewhat looked like the Chaffee’s conscience was acting up, because his expression crumbled a little.   
“We’ll talk about it with our leader. Be right back.” he said and he and his scavenger friend drove off into one of the alleys.

“There’s two tanks coming towards us!” Arty reported, waking Eohelm up from staring into space.   
“Who?” he asked, sounding a bit muddled.   
“Looks like Eject and Noob!” the Sturmpanzer replied, her expression bright. Eohelm nodded. It was indeed good news that they were still alive.   
“What did you find out?” he radioed them before they could even arrive. Maybe they would bring even more good news, who knew? The tanking league really could use some of that for a change.   
«Ruinberg’s deserted. But there’s a handful of scavengers that live nearby. They agreed to let us into their base…they said they can give us repairs.» Eject replied, «Could be a trap, they looked a bit…you know.»  
“If this works out it would be great.” Eohelm said with a wistful hopefulness. “I’ll gather everyone and tell them to get ready to leave.”


	46. The Scavengers and the Skytanks

The base the Tanking League was taken to was a well-hidden underground bunker just outside Ruinberg. Passing a grim-looking Löwe and through a hall, they reached a room that was dark, small, and cluttered with towers of crates as well as all kinds of garbage and filth. It seemed to be an anteroom of sorts, and by the time the last Tanking League member had managed to squeeze themselves in, the first ones had already moved on to the next room, which was a bit more spacious at least. However, it wasn’t any less cramped though. Whatever those scavengers were collecting here, they had a _lot_ of it.

Fang’s gaze grazed some of the crates in hopes of seeing something that looked like it could be track pieces of a Panther. From what he had heard, this team would be getting repairs here, but he didn’t know if that included him. It had better. What use was a permanently tracked Jagdpanther to them anyway?

“This,” the Chaffee that had introduced himself as ‘Angler’ said festively, “Is our house and home.” He made a small bow with his cannon. “First of all, you’re all welcome, and second of all, we need some rules while you’re here. Most important rule – don’t leave without Pliskin – that’s our Löwe, you met him at the door – knowing. I mean he’ll know anyway, but it’s important alright? We don’t want any of you to be locked out when the ghosts come!”

Fang sighed. Ghosts…what bullshit. He and Tate had known about the town being deserted (which was also why they had been surprised that the Himmelsdorf team wanted to go there…but no one asked and it was _their_ business, so…), but no one had told them anything about _ghosts_. What kind of ghosts anyway? He wouldn’t have been surprised if those freaks only made that story up to prevent people from taking the town so they could live comfortably near it. It seemed to be the most logical explanation; after all, it didn’t look like these scavengers were particularly high tier or many.

Angler looked at him all of a sudden, which probably meant that he must have heard the sigh. Well, it would have been hard to miss. The Jagdpanther sat down on his suspension and gave the light tank a haughty look. He then remembered that these were the guys that would hopefully help him with this track and averted his gaze.

The Chaffee went on. “Also, all of you who need repairs should talk to our Bergetiger. He’s not here right now, but he should be back in a couple of days. Unless there’s anything really urgent?”

Pepper raised his cannon and pointed at the Centurion next to him, who quickly shook his turret. “I’ll survive!” Eohelm said, earning a glare from the Leopard 1. Angler was obviously waiting for an explanation on whether or not it was urgent now. “It’s my engine” Eohelm said.

Angler shrugged, “Well, we could tell him to hurry up but that might actually increase the chance that he won’t return at all.” he said.

“There’s no rush, really” Eohelm replied.

“Alright,” Skaian threw in from beside Angler. “How about we get to know each other’s names? I mean you’ll be stuck here for some time, better get to know each other, yes?”

Introductions were being made, but that didn’t capture Noob’s attention for long. The Leichttraktor’s gaze fell on a weirdly pudgy and soft looking tank between some of the rubble. Was that a Sherman? It wasn’t moving, so he curiously inched towards it and poked it with his glacis. It wobbled, making a hollow sound. Noob tilted his cannon in wonder. “What’s that?” he asked out loud.

Angler turned around, his cannon darting back and forth between the Sherman and the Leichttraktor. “This is Winston” he explained.

“Winston?” Noob asked with an uncomprehending look.

“Winston Churchill.”

“Who’s Winston Churchill?”

“Him.” Angler pointed at the dummy tank, making it sound like he was confused by the question.

“What?”

The tanking league fell silent as most of them started noticing the small exchange, and puzzled looks were shared. Eohelm decided to step in helpfully. “Winston Churchill was a-“

“Was? You’re saying that like he’s dead…!” Angler interrupted, sounding kind of upset.

“Well he is.” Rex barged in.

“H-He’s not!”

“Nott him! Dhe odther one!” the VK said, his voice rising in volume from exasperation.

Eject had watched quietly but now spoke up as well, addressing the general crowd. “Are you serious?” He was ignored.

“So you have another Churchill here?” asked Arty, her gun moving about as she looked around with interest.

“What-…No, just him” Angler responded, now both slightly distressed and confused.

“I woodn’t call _him_ alive eether, though.” Rex added.

“So he’s like…a zombie?” Noob asked. There was no doubt that he found that possibility incredibly awesome. “Is he… _one of the ghosts??_ ”

Sky joined the conversation as well. “That’s not even a Churchill.” she remarked dryly.

“You’re all being very insensitive right now” Skaian said indignantly on behalf of Winston, making everyone else fall silent. “Winston is our leader and you should show some god damn respect.”

“Your leader…” Eject repeated with stunned disbelief as he pointed at the Sherman, “ _This_ is your leader?” He sounded like he couldn’t believe that he even said that.

“That’s what I just told you” Skaian replied, deadpan.

Noob had a lot more questions than that—for example, how this _leader_ had decided that they were allowed to stay. But somehow he doubted that these guys would appreciate him asking. He already knew that their stay would be…special.

The rest of the day and evening, however, turned out to be surprisingly not-weird and calm. This bunker gave the tanks a sense of safety, and their hosts left them alone for the most part. Yet it became clear very quickly that they didn’t like it when the guests tried to roam around, which was kind of suspicious, and actually, tanks like Noob only felt even more inclined to sneak around and explore. The bunker had turned out to be a bit bigger than what they had seen so far, and all the garbage had been various broken tank parts, with the crates being full of either not-as-broken spare parts (which the Leichttraktor made sure to snitch as many as he could carry) and other stuff that Noob could neither identify nor sure why they would keep it around anyway. Something he saw rather often was weird wooden and metal sticks that were broader and flat on one end and round on the other. They looked a bit like cannons actually, or rather like MGs, but they seemed to lack any kind of mount, and also had strange mechanisms attached to them. Another oddity he found was a box full of flat metal rods that were pointy and had short sticks attached to them. He had seen some of them on one of the odd MGs as well.

Shaking his turret, Noob decided to sift through some of the other stuff since he wasn’t able to make any sense of these strange tools.

On the next day, and in another part of the bunker, Arty was snooping around as well, although what she was looking for was a certain tank. Usually in a mood to make new friends, she had seen her chance to go and bond with the Chaffe. He seemed really nice. Weird, but nice, and weird she was too. Also she wanted to get out a little. Contrary to what she should feel, this underground building actually made her feel caged in and everything but comfortable. She didn’t dare, however, to leave alone, and a guide would be immensely helpful.

She found him rather quickly, since all she had to do was try corridors until he showed up with the intention to guide her back to the part of the bunker they were allowed in. “Oh hey,” she said sweetly. “I think I got lost, heheh.”

Angler tilted his cannon. He probably didn’t believe that she really got lost on accident, but Arty didn’t mind that because it would have been more bothersome to go and actually look for him. She felt no need to hide that. He stared at her, and Arty decided that it was time to drop the poor act. “Actually, could you show me around? Not here I mean, but outside. I’ve never seen Ruinberg before!”

The Chaffe’s expression lightened up and he shrugged. “Sure, but it’s dangerous. We might have to return really quickly if there’s any sign of the ghosts showing up.”

“I better come with you guys.” Skaian said, again displaying his habit of showing up all of a sudden out of literally nowhere.

“Yeah…” Angler said.

“You know the rules.” Skaian replied sternly.

“I do…” the Chaffee replied with a roll of his cannon. He turned back to the waiting SPG. “Anyway, let’s go.”

The morning air was cool, but it wasn’t as fresh as the ones Arty was used to. Thick billows of smoke still covered the town, making it hard to see very far and turning the sky dark as they continued to block out the sun. The smoke and the ashes crawled into her vents, making her cough every once in a while and leaving behind a dry taste.

“Used to be nicer here.” Angler mumbled as they strolled through the cobbled streets. “But the ghosts keep lighting it up. And lately they show up so often that the fires barely ever die out anymore.”

Arty nodded thoughtfully.

“At least we know when they come, so we don’t get surprised.”

“How do you know?” the Sturmpanzer asked.

“Angler’s got this…kind of sixth sense.” Skaian said. “He always predicts it an hour before it happens.”

“It’s not a sixth sense” Angler said gravely. “It’s the skytanks.”

“Skytanks? You mean arty?” Arty said.

“No, no, actual tanks in the sky.”

“…Huh.”

“Shut up about them, will you?” Skaian added. “They’re not real.”

The Chaffe stubbornly lowered his gun. “They are.”

“Then how come no one except you can see them?”  
“Because they’re invisible, duh.” Angler replied. If he was aware of how fantastic that sounded, he didn’t show it.

Arty looked at Skaian, but he only rolled his cannon.


	47. A Discovery

Another day passed. Noob had found his waydeeper and deeper into the guts of the bunker, where it progressively got more empty…and more spooky. Most of the lights didn’t work down here, which was why he had to use his headlights to advance, and there was a myriad of ominously empty rooms that seemed to serve no purpose. On the way he had also ran into what had looked like someone’s room, and luckily no one had been there to witness it. It was also getting really cold.

Now he was following a strangely long hallway with no rooms, only a big door at the end of it that appeared in his headlights as he almost reached it. The Leichttraktor’s engine turned faster in excitement. Maybe he had found a secret treasure room?

He laboriously pushed the heavy door open, but as his light fell on silhouettes inside, he almost wished he hadn’t. The air smelled heavily of fuel and oil and was stale, dust settling on his vents quickly. The silhouettes didn’t move, and Noob looked closer.  
Again, he wished he hadn’t.

Before him, rows upon rows of motionless tank bodies were lined up, filling the huge hall-like room. They looked ghostly, motionless but almost alive in the contrasting light of his headlights. They drew shadows on the floor and the other corpses, and Noob felt like he was going to purge. It had to be…more than two hundred at least, if not much more that were hidden further in the back of the room and possibly in other rooms.  
Terrified, he backed up and pushed the door back shut as fast as he could and leaned against it.  
 _‘Why the HECK are they keeping a million dead people down here??’_ he thought with an outcry. He had to tell his team right away. What if these scavengers…were actually psychos? What if they just lured in strangers and killed them for parts? What if the whole ghost story was just a trick?

He started racing back to where he came and quickly contacted his team mates through their common radio channel.  
“Guys…!  _Guys_  we have a  _situation!!_ ” he cried.  
«What’s wrong??» Pepper replied almost immediately. Noob must have called at an inconvenient time, since the Leopard was the first to reply and the rest didn’t even sound like they had gotten the message yet.  
“There’s- there’s some- no, a lot-“ Noob said breathlessly, still too shaken from what he had seen.  
«What?» Eject chimed in second.  
“ _Dead tanks!_  So many!” the Leichttraktor finally managed to say.

«Where? Where are you?» Eject asked, his voice now urgent.  
«What the heck’s going on?» Fox now reported in as well.  
“Dead….I think it’s a trap- all of this- I’m on the lower floors of the bunker and there’s loads of dead tanks!!”  
«A trap? What kind of trap…?» Arty suddenly threw in.

Noob finally reached the levels where there was light again.  
« _Noob!_  Are you okay?!» Awol’s voice joined the others on the radio.  
“Yes, yes…..I am but- what if it’s all a trick to kill people?? I think they’re letting people in here and then kill them!” the Leichttraktor wheezed.  
«But…they seemed really nice…?» Arty said.  
«Nice doesn’t always mean ‘won’t murder you in your sleep’, sadly» Eohelm said pensively, «Think about it, all of this really does sound a bit fishy. They let in a team of total strangers, they don’t want us to leave or look around, and they promised us days ago that a Bergetiger would show up ‘soon’…And their story about ghosts…»  
Another voice cut him off.  
«Shit, let’s get out of here! » their captive Jagdpanther said, with a second voice in the background quietly hissing ‘Fang!’ but it was ignored by the TD. «It all makes sense now! I mean come on, their leader’s a dummy tank for fucks sake! How sane can they be? »

The radio line went chaotic with chatter from all directions as everyone was sharing their opinion and concerns now, and it became impossible to understand anything at all.  
«Guys….!» Eohelm tried to break through the voices talking over each other, « _Guys_ _!!_ »

Some of them stopped talking, and eventually everyone else was following suit as well until there was silence on the line.

«Guys, we’re more than them. And we out-tier them as well. There’s no reason to panic now. No one’s gonna get murdered.»  
«We should go and confront ‘em about it» Sky rumbled.  
 «Maybe it’s a misunderstanding and there’s a good reason they are keeping dead tanks in their basement-» Eohelm continued.  
«-and if it’s not, we blow them to hell!» Sky added, earning cheers.

Thirty kilometers per hour. Many would say that thirty kilometers per hour aren’t particularly fast. Especially a decent light tank would probably laugh at such a top speed. It would never be enough to catch for example, a fully upgraded Chaffee going at full speed. Such a Chaffee - although a long time ago would have reached “only” about sixty-five kilometers per hour – could, thanks to borrowing parts from tanks equipped with more powerful engines, reach top speeds of around eighty kilometers per hour; also due to the light weight of only about twenty tons.

If these values are switched however – eighty tons at even only twenty kilometers per hour could easily turn the Chaffee into scrap metal.

There was one certain heavy tank that happened to be part of the Tanking League, the VK 45.02 (P) B (also known as Rex), who fit these criteria.

And with his thirty kilometers per hour, coming towards Angler, the Chaffee rightfully feared for his life. There was no time left to turn around by the time Rex appeared from the bend of the corridor with screeching tracks, and all Angler could do was scream and back up as fast as he could.

He closed his viewports as the impact was imminent, but suddenly heard the other tank hit the brakes hard. Even despite that, it  _hurt_. The front of the Chaffee was pressed down as it got caught under Rex’ lower glacis – which was actually luck – but that made said glacis collide with the gun and turret, and Angler felt as if both were being ripped off.

“O-OW, why—“ he cried, looking at green armor in front of him, “That hurt!!”  
He really doubted that this was an accident, because there had been no warning at all…even though the other tank braked, but he probably just wasn’t going to kill him right away.  
“We have a fyew queshtshions forr you” Rex growled, “And you better ansher dhem rrighd!”  
“What?? Talk properly and get off me!!” Angler yelled.

A shot plinked off Rex’ armour, and he turned his turret to see Skaian stand in the corridor as well; it seemed like the other team’s Löwe hadn’t arrived yet.

From behind Rex, Fox reached the others as well; the two heavies were now blocking the corridor completely, and both had their guns trained on the Panzer III/IV on the other side, while Rex still kept the Chaffee pushed down. Angler flailed, but to no avail.

“We’d like to know why you’re keeping corpses in your basement” Fox asked with a grim look. “And if we don’t like your answer, I’m sure you can imagine what’s going to happen.”

Skaian looked like he wasn’t going to oblige and deny everything, but Angler – who was a little closer to a potential death – immediately made up his mind as Rex rolled forward an inch menacingly, causing a crunching sound as more of the light tank disappeared under his glacis.

“Okay, okay!! I’ll tell you, but only if you get off me first!” Angler said desperately.

“No.” Rex replied and inched forwards more.

Angler cried out and was quick to adjust his conditions.  
“Alright, I’ll tell you and then you get off me!!”

“That sounds better.” Fox grinned, “So?”

“Alright ehr…” Angler said, “We  _have_  to keep them there! Or else _they_  will get them!”  
“They?” Fox asked, and with a roll of his cannon asked, “The ghosts?”  
“Well yes-, no-, actually they’re not ghosts I guess” Angler admitted, and he would have slumped if his suspension hadn’t already been squeezed to the limit.

“Who wood'ff thought” Rex said.

“But it’s basically the same!” Angler said, “It’s not a lie!”

“Ghosts just sounds better” Skaian added.

The loud scrunching of heavy metal tracks against concrete announced Pliskin’s arrival. The Löwe had appeared as well – late but eventually – and silently stood behind Skaian. Whether he knew that no one was going to be shot wasn’t clear as he aimed his cannon at Rex. But he didn’t fire; if he really wanted to he could have done it right away. A squished light tank was always a diplomatic advantage in such situations.

“So what is a lie and what isn’t?” Fox asked.

“The ghosts- well, not-ghosts-, they show up all the time” Angler said, “We don’t really know who or what they are either!”

“And why is it so important that they don’t get the corpses?”

The Chaffee lowered his gaze. His voice and expression turned ominous.

“Because when the ghosts get the corpses….the corpses come back as ghosts.”

Fox and Rex shared a look, and the King Tiger looked at the other present tanks as well. They all seemed so solemn and serious that he assumed that they really believed what the light tank had just said.

“They come back?” he asked pensively.

“Are you gonna get off me already?!” Angler barked instead of answering the question.

Fox nodded. The scavenger had been sufficiently honest so far to justify his release.

“Rex?”

Rex huffed and rolled off the other tank’s front.

Angler hissed a hostile “Nerd!” and quickly backed up to his team mates. He looked a little beaten up now, but no serious damage had been done.

Before anyone could get the idea that the interrogation was over, Eject finally arrived too, looming behind Fox, who repeated his question.

“Why do the dead tanks come back?”

Both Angler and Skaian started looking more uncomfortable than before. It was Pliskin – who had never said a word since the Tanking League had arrived – who spoke for them.

“We don’t know. But they’re…different when they do.” he said.

“Like zombies” Angler said.

For some reason Fox got the feeling that they had seen one of their own return that way. From the way their expressions had changed, it was the only reasonable conclusion, and (although it was still hard to believe) it also finally erased his last doubt that they could be lying.

«Zombies?» Noob suddenly asked over the radio. This time he didn’t sound like he thought it was something awesome at all. « _Real_  zombies?»

Fox tuned him out and hummed thoughtfully.  
“So you guys are a rampart against those ghosts…of sorts. How come they only attack this town? Why this town in particular? What’s so special about it?”

The scavengers shrugged.  
Skaian spoke up.

“We haven’t figured it out yet. Maybe they attack other bases too, and no one survives to tell other people. Maybe there’s some kind of secret treasure hidden and buried somewhere here, but apart from that I guess we’re to blame ourselves” he said.

“What do you mean?” Fox asked.

“It’s kind of a vicious circle.” Angler said. “We defeated them, they left their wrecks behind. They came back to get them. We defeated them again. There’s more wrecks they want to come and get. We ran out of space, and now they’re piling up everywhere. At this point, if we let them have them, it would be such a huge number of new ghosts they could create from them that they could overrun more than just this town. So we basically helped with creating this situation and it’s a bit too late now to stop doing what we’re doing.”

More quietly, he added, “I think we owe that to everyone.”

Fox nodded. “Anything else you know about them?” he eventually asked.  
“Sometimes they randomly stop…working” Angler said, “No idea why.”

«So what about the skytanks?» Arty asked. Fox raised his optic ridges, but didn’t comment.  
“They’re real!” Angler replied immediately, and Skaian smacked him over the turret.  
“They’re not!” the Panzer III/IV said.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for now” Eject said, and his team mates nodded. “I hope this doesn’t influence our permission to stay here, but we had to know whether you were going to murder us or not.”

Angler gave the heavies (but also his own team mates) indignant looks. “I  _guess_  it doesn’t” he said.


	48. Battle for Ruinberg

Back in their part of the bunker, Eohelm, Sky, and the heavies had gathered to discuss what they had found out. To keep the discussion from getting chaotic, the others had been restricted to listening through their radios or looking on and being quiet.

“Dhey mighd be remote contrroll’d in some way” Rex said.  
“Yeah, probably by some sort of leader. Sounds more plausible than zombies.” Fox added.

Sky dropped her gaze as she thought about all the new information and its implications.  
“So if we could find the leader and take them out, they should stop functioning?” she asked.

“Possibly. There’s probably multiple ones. They’re probably somewhere nearby, or even among them, to control them efficiently.” Fox replied.

“Which doesn’t sound like a good idea at all, though” Eohelm said to Sky. “Think of our numbers and our state, and most importantly, it’s not really any of our business.”

The other present tanks looked at him and he shrugged.  
“It’s not our base. It’s not our war. It seems like these guys are doing a pretty good job at keeping the world from being overrun, so why should we risk our lives for it?”

Sky nodded.  
“I guess you’re right.” she said. “It does sound like a local problem, kinda.”  
“Exactly. We have our own problems to deal with” Eohelm said. “I suggest we only stay here until their TRV arrives, and then we should go and look for a base for ourselves.”

After a second of contemplation he added, with a small grin, “Preferably one that isn’t being targeted by the supernatural.”

An approving hum from the radios settled the matter.  

***

“So yeah, basically we’ll go our way as soon as we’re repaired” Arty told the Chaffee by her side.

He nodded. They were on another drive through the town, and this time they had even managed to get away from Skaian, who was probably still at the bunker, blissfully unaware of the two runaways. Arty got the feeling that it wasn’t the first time Angler had broken the rule that required them to always leave together, judging by how easily he had managed to sneak out.

“That’s fine, we didn’t expect anything else. Our TRV’s a bit late though, so maybe he died, can’t tell.” he said, “But I have a feeling that he might come back tonight. He usually shows up during night time…safer for him, I guess.”  
“Makes sense” Arty said.

She stared ahead into the dark street before them as they drove on. It would have been hard to see much if it hadn’t been for the fires inside the houses and several craters, which – despite dying down mostly at this point – were still providing sufficient light. The street lights on the other hand were mere decoration, as this place was obviously without electricity, other than those that were being supplied by the clan-controlled facilities and towns.

“Over there” Angler said finally, and turned into a small alley. “This is the coolest thing you ever saw! I promise! There’s a huge stash of i-”

He suddenly fell silent and stared at the sky that was visible above a building at the end of the alley that was broken down to the point of being hardly any higher than a heavy tank.

“Crap” he hissed, “We gotta go back, right now!”

The Chaffee spun around and almost ran into Arty.  
“What? Why?” she said, looking at where he had been looking, but without seeing anything out of the ordinary.  
“What’s wrong?” she asked as he started pushing her back into the direction where they had come from originally.  
“Skytank.” he said with rushed urgency in his voice, “There’s one over there. They’re near!”

Arty looked again, but still saw nothing. But she remembered that they were supposed to be invisible, quickly nodded, and started setting herself into motion as well.

“What the heck is going on?” Jack asked, struggling to make his voice heard over the blaring air raid siren. Their sound was filling the whole bunker, with a volume loud enough to probably wake up even the dead. The AT-2 couldn’t understand why a handful of tanks needed such a loud alarm when they were probably in radio contact anyway.

When no one was able to explain, or rather, no one actually heard him, he decided to try getting away from the noise by retreating to one of the far corners of the bunker instead – where of course it wasn’t any less loud – and on the way almost got run over by two German heavy tanks rushing past him. Where were _they_  going? Was the Tanking League supposed to do something about this?

So far he had only been able to conclude that there was probably an attack; most likely the “ghosts”. But he had thought they weren’t going to be involved in that? Had that changed?

He hadn’t been with the Tanking League for a long time, and maybe that was the reason, but no one was telling him anything.

All attempts to stop Rex had been in vain, so all that was left for Fox to do now was drive after him and try to reason with him, which…wasn’t very successful either. The VK was going at full speed, even grazing corners as he was making his way to the exit in a hurry.  
“You remember what Eohelm said, don’t you?” Fox shouted.  
Rex waved his cannon dismissively.  
“I’m not damag’d” he shouted back.  
“You probably will be” Fox replied.

The other heavy disappeared from his view for a moment as he almost drifted around a corner, and Fox couldn’t quite understand his answer. It probably had been something like “I’m not a tier 1!”, since that was one of the usual responses when he tried to talk reason to his friend. One day, he would get himself killed that way, that was for sure.

“Also I wanna see dhe ghossts!” Rex said cheerfully, “You not too?”  
“It’s-“  
At that point the sirens suddenly stopped and Fox stopped himself to adjust his own volume.  
“It’s ‘Wouldn’t you-“ he started, but got cut off again when there was a loud outcry as first Rex and then himself passed an upset looking Chaffee.

“Where do you think you’re going??” Angler shouted after them, but Fox just shrugged.

“Are these guys for real?” the light tank said to the Löwe next to him, “Freakin’ unbelievable.”  
Pliskin just rumbled a resounding “Mhhh-hmm” and pushed the bunker gate closed.  
“And where’s Skaian? Did he go ahead already?”

With another shrug, Pliskin started driving off to take his position for the coming attack.  
“Skaian??” Angler said into his radio and raced off past his team mate.  
«I’m in position» the Panzer III/IV replied.  
“Any signs of them yet?” Angler asked.  
«Are you sure it’s the right direction?»

The Chaffee jumped over a little bump in the road and swerved back into control before he answered.  
“Yes, that’s where it was pointing” he replied, referring to the skytank he had seen.  
«Well, no signs» Skaian said.  
“Good.»  
He dodged a wreck and avoided another, took a shortcut, and eventually reached the park-like square at the edge of the town.

«You went outside on your own again» Skaian griped, but Angler pretended that he hadn’t heard it.

Where they had cornered the ghosts during the last attack, wrecks were standing in a circle. The two Tanking League heavies that had escaped from the bunker beforehand were here as well, driving along the row of houses on the west as if they knew perfectly well where they were going.

“Hey,” he said as he drove over to them and alongside them, “You guys been here before?”  
“Fought quite a few battles here…some time ago” Fox said, at first not averting his gaze from his path, but then he turned towards the light tank after all.  
“Where do you need us?” he asked.

“Wellll first of all we don’t  _need_  you” Angler said with a small pout, “…but I guess it would be nice if you guys could provide some extra firepower. We don’t know hundred percent yet where they’ll show up, but it will be somewhere in this direction.”  
He pointed north, where at the other end of the town, Skaian was on the lookout.  
“They’re gonna show up there, on the hills. Ideally we’ll take them out before they reach the town.” he explained.

“Gotcha” Rex said with a nod.  
“How much time do we have to get into positions?” Fox added.  
“Still about forty minutes, do you think you’ll make it?” Angler asked with a cheeky grin as he sped up again.

“Maybe!” Fox shouted after him as the Chaffee left them behind and continued his race to the other side of the town.

Arriving at said other side, Angler drove into one of the ruins, climbing up a sort of ramp made of rubble, and through a hole composed of multiple collapsed windows, overlooked the sea of wrecks that fringed the outskirts. Skaian was waiting on a similar outlook, keeping a watchful optic on the hills beyond.

There was no real plan yet – he had asked Winston, but like so often, their leader had been indisposed. It was always hard anyway to predict how their enemies would deploy and of course they couldn’t know which tanks they’d bring. It was especially tough when it was only the three of them, but there was no ETA of their Maus yet. Privately, Angler had to admit that he was glad that two high tier heavies would join them this time. Usually they could just so handle the groups of ghosts that showed up, since usually the rest of them stopped working as soon as they had killed some of them. But there had been tough situations before, which was part of the reason why there was so few of the Scavengers.

For now, the idea was to catch them with a hail of bullets when they crested the hills. Once they reached the labyrinth of wrecks it would be possible to sneak past them and flank, and if everything went well, that would be it. Angler knew all the small lanes and crooked paths that the dead tanks formed – he spent a lot of time memorizing them and pushing them into convenient positions – so it was a piece of cake for him to navigate them, while their opponents always struggled with it. Skaian would do it like him, and Pliskin would clean up after them. Even if the light and the medium couldn’t kill something, they could at least track it for the Löwe (and when she was here, for the Maus also). That way they made a rather efficient team.

The Löwe had arrived as well, sending a short burst of static to his team mates to let them know he did. Angler looked around and saw that their guests had also found convenient spots for them to wait in ambush.

Angler realized that he had forgotten to tell them to turn off their radios, but they would probably do that anyway as soon as they saw why. His own radio was turned off now, and his team mates had done the same after everyone had confirmed their readiness. The Chaffee didn’t know how much time was left now, but he was sure that the attack was going to start soon.

“I still think this wasn’t a good idea” Fox said to the other heavy. “You don’t even know how many it’s going to be.”  
“Hoffentlich genug!” Rex gave back smugly.  
“Enough?” The King Tiger shook his turret. “You’re crazy. Let’s hope we get out of this alive.”

They had figured out that the plan was probably to shoot as many tanks as possible before they could reach the town. Which meant they wouldn’t have much time since the enemies would only have to cover a distance of a couple of hundred meters once they had crested the hills, and if it was fast ones, it wouldn’t take them long. But Fox knew that despite the darkness, he could rely on his good old 88mm, and he was positive that he’d manage to take out at least three of them before they’d reach the wrecks. Then it would be brawling. He grimaced at the thought, which earned him an inquiring look from Rex.

The VK didn’t seem to mind the close quarters, and the many dents and shell holes in his armor were the result.

Now something moved in the darkness on the hills, and Fox focused instantly. Whatever it was, it had only been something small and furry, but before the heavy could relax again, his radio suddenly started picking up white noise that rose to an unbearable volume steadily. Rex was experiencing the same thing, and they looked at each other in confusion for a moment before turning off their radios.

Just as they did, silhouettes started appearing on the hilltops. These silhouettes quickly became tanks, and at least five of them poured down the hill in a way that reminded Fox of the way the water had crashed down on them on the way to Ruinberg.

Neither of the heavies hesitated and they started shooting, just as their three allies did. Two ghosts blew up, one did almost a full spin as its track snapped off at full speed. The rest of them drove on undeterred as if they hadn’t even noticed the shots, one of them even despite the fact that it was smoking now.  
Fox adjusted his sights, but it only confirmed his first impression. That was indeed smoke from the engine, not just exhaust. It didn’t seem to bother the tank – a T52/2 – in the least, as it kept sprinting towards the town. Even as it was shot again, it showed no signs of pain or hesitation. Now the King Tiger understood how someone would get the impression that those were supernatural in some way. And while he didn’t believe that, he could confidently say that at the very least there was something really wrong with them.

He shot the tank again, and it finally stopped. Against his expectations, together with the efforts of the others that made only five dead tanks and two tracked ones so far. But there were still more appearing from behind the hills, until Fox could see ten remaining tanks coming towards their position. He tried to make out anyone who looked like a leader of sorts, but there seemed to be no difference in how they behaved. Instead, Fox decided to continue with the original plan. Maybe it wasn’t even true that they were remote controlled.

Next to him, Rex fired, and a Panther II burst into flames. Fox trained his sights on a turreted tank, and he blinked as it wasn’t any tank that he recognized. It looked like an odd mix of a Cromwell chassis and a TOG turret, and it seemed to have spotted him as well, as a shell came flying his way. It missed and Fox shot back, but missed as well, and had to retreat as suddenly the other ghosts started firing at him as well.

“That one” he said to Rex, who had backed up as well, “The Cromwell-wannabe’s probably a leader. He looked at me first and all the others followed.”  
“Cood just be a chain react’shn” Rex said with a shrug.  
Fox cautiously looked out of the breach he had been shooting out of. The return fire had ceased, but to his dismay the unidentifiable tank had reached the wrecks already. Its team mates were following.  
“Shit” the King Tiger hissed; he managed to take out one more tank before all of them disappeared from his line of sight. However he saw two more tanks appear on the hill – a KV-4 and a Super Pershing. He was about to shoot them when they suddenly opened fire at the tanks between the wrecks.

“More scavengers?” he asked no one in particular, and Rex, who had seen it too, shrugged cluelessly.  
Fox knew that someone from their team was supposed to return, but didn’t they say that it was supposed to be a TRV? Although an escort would make sense, if the TRV was hiding somewhere.  
He noticed an engine noise behind them and turned his turret around to Angler who was zipping past.  
“Hey, what’s happening?” he asked.  
Angler only flashed him a grin and shouted “Showtime, that’s what!” before he disappeared between the buildings. Much slower, Pliskin followed. The two other German heavies decided to follow suit.

“Are you aware that two more tanks showed up and are shooting ghosts?” Fox asked the Löwe as he drove next to him.  
“Yeah” Pliskin replied.  
“Well, do you know who they are?”  
“Nah.”

The King Tiger seemed irritated at his taciturn replies, but Pliskin simply shrugged his cannon. If they were here to kill ghosts, what did it matter who they were?

Their ways parted when they left the street to go look for the enemy tanks. Rex and Fox went together, but Pliskin went his own way, taking the route that Angler had taken. He was pretty sure that the two other heavies would get lost soon enough, but they were acting as if they knew exactly what they were doing, so he wasn’t going to patronize them.

It was only a matter of a minute until he found the first ghost; the tracked SU-152 was showing its side and therefore was helpless, which meant that Angler had done his job. The tank destroyer wasn’t moving at all, which wasn’t unusual for tracked turretless ghosts, as they seemed to be unable to grasp their situation.

Pliskin offed it with a couple of shots. The fact that they died like regular tanks was really the only thing about them that wasn’t alienating and unnatural.

The Löwe squeezed past it and also past another destroyed tank that was only a few meters away from it. It seemed like it had been killed in a hurry - the shell holes indicated inaccurate shots. Which meant that Angler was probably chasing after someone, or being chased.

The latter case could mean trouble. Pliskin was an experienced soldier, but the lack of radio communication was inconvenient, to put it mildly, and the situation could go out of control quickly with no way to know before it was too late.

He looked around, reaching a crossroads. He tried to guess which way either Angler or Skaian could be found. In the end he chose a random direction, following a lane formed by an avenue of wrecks.

There couldn’t be a lot of ghosts left, but he was still cautious since even a single one could catch him off guard and-

A shot suddenly hit his rear and he turned around to find that one of them had sneaked up behind him. He recognized the strange Cromwell-TOG hybrid that he too had seen on the hills before and fired a shot at it that didn’t kill it however; its next shot hit his side near the rear again, and this time it burst into flames. He cried out in pain and shock, but managed to get in a last shot that blew up the ghost.

When they found him, it was already far too late. Skaian could only confirm the Löwe’s death. The remaining ghosts had suddenly stopped working like they often did, which Fox had told them that it was possibly because someone may have taken out a leader. Said theory had made enough sense that the Scavengers decided to put thought into it.

But that would be done later; for now they returned to the bunker in silence, with a wreck, a TRV, and two tanks that had introduced themselves as Zaffa and Ramiel.

It took a Tanking League heavy’s help to open the bunker gate again, and behind it Sky and a handful others were waiting, probably to scold the German heavy tanks for running off on their own, but as they saw the returning tanks’ grim expressions, they made way for them without anyone saying a word.

Pliskin’s corpse was brought to Winston, and the remaining Scavengers silently paid tribute to their deceased team mate before they towed him to the other wrecks down on the lower levels.

“So what are you gonna do now?” Zaffa asked while sipping on a can of fuel. Together with the KV-4 they had met shortly before they arrived at Ruinberg, they had picked up a lone wandering Bergetiger that had been on the way there. Like every decent tank would do, they had escorted the TRV back to his home, and on the way had run into the weirdest group of tanks they had ever seen.

The TRV had explained to them who, or rather, what these tanks were, and even though that had only raised more questions than it had answered, it had been Ramiel’s idea to attack them as soon as they reached the town.

Zaffa hadn’t asked, but they had gone ahead and assumed that this heavy was simply one who loved to fight. The following battle had confirmed their assumption.

Luckily no one except for the ghosts had tried to shoot them, and they had even had the chance to explain themselves and go get the Bergetiger that had been in hiding until then without getting shot after all (not that they had been all too worried about two tier fives trying to kill them, with a King Tiger and VK45.02 B standing behind them however the story was a different one).

“No idea…wait for a miracle, I guess” Angler said. He was still downcast from the loss and its consequences. Skaian nodded. Without their Löwe and with their other heavy absent, it sounded impossible to fend off the waves of ghosts any longer.

“Hmm” Zaffa hummed, “I could stay to help. Not like I got anything else to do, and killing those ghosts was quite fun.” They grinned.  
“I could stay too” Ramiel added pensively. “I didn’t come all the way from Karkhov to see the Ruinberg team only to find that they’re gone and go home again.”

“It sure would haunt you if you did!” Zaffa said and started laughing.

Ramiel squinted at them in disbelieve at their pun, but the mood turned sober again almost immediately when Angler spoke again.

“Really? You would really stay here?” he asked, sounding almost teary.

“Yup. Like I said, got nothing better to do” Zaffa replied. “Might as well dedicate my gun to a good cause for a while.”

“Same here” Ramiel said.


	49. Farewell

Arty hissed in pain. She wished now that she hadn’t pretended to be tougher than she was, because having the gash on her side from the mud slide welded without anaesthethics had turned out to be a terrible idea. But now she was too proud to ask for them after all.

Therefore she tried to distract herself with casual conversation.

“So basically it would be really great but I don’t think it’s possible” she said, sprawling out on her suspension as she tried her best to relax.  
The Bergetiger that was working on her gave her a sad shrug.

“Easy solution” he said quietly, “Everyone has to stop fighting.”  
Arty shook her cannon incredulously.

“But how would that work?” she asked.

“Don’t listen to him!” Angler chimed in, “He’s a pacifist.”   
He rolled his cannon to indicate what he thought of the TRV’s mental state.  
“Pacifist is not a bad word” the Bergetiger said and gave him a sour look before he turned back to working on Arty.

“We’re fighting a war that we didn’t even start. Factory-fresh they’re already made to kill each other, and no one even tells them why…How can you think that this is a good thing?”

Angler sighed as if he had had this discussion a thousand times already.  
“Well, you say it’s such an easy solution but it’ not. It just won’t work in real life. But you can’t know.”

Arty nodded slowly. After all, TRVs weren’t fighters. They knew so little about warfare that she wouldn’t trust them to come up with a good strategy if their life depended on it. Even less did she think they would be able to stop a war that had been going on for generations. If the tanks couldn’t even figure it out, then who could?

The cough of an engine drew everyone’s attention to the doorway. The Tanking League’s captive Jagdpanther was standing there and looking at the TRV expectantly. From behind him, Tate appeared and was wearing the same expression.

“I already told you it’s not your turn yet” the TRV said, sounding a little less patient than he had probably tried to.  
“When?” Fang asked grumpily.  
“Not yet! Can’t you see I’m working?”  
“I’m more important” the Jagdpanther insisted.  
“Your leader said otherwise.”  
“She’s not  _my_  leader.”

Tate sighed and interrupted the other two.  
“We’ll come back later.” he said and went about towing Fang back out of the room. The Jagdpanther glared at the present tanks as long as he could as he was slowly dragged backwards and out of sight.

Angler turned towards Arty again.  
“You know, if you wanna come back sometime and upgrade, I’m pretty sure we got a Hummel standing around somewhere in our basement. It’s been there for a while, but should still be functional.” he told her with a grin.  
“Oh?” Arty said, her optics shining, “That sounds awesome!”

After all, becoming a Hummel was her biggest goal at the moment, and a crazy idea crossed her mind.  
“Can’t you just upgrade me right now?” she asked.

The TRV stopped working on her for a moment, and it almost looked like he was considering her suggestion, but he eventually shook his crane.  
“I’m sorry, but that would be irresponsible” he said.  
Arty huffed through her vents.  
“But…I have high tier team mates!” she protested.  
“And if they’re not irresponsible, they won’t let you participate in high tier fights” the Bergetiger replied. “You’re only a tier four. You’re most likely way too inexperienced to jump to tier six. I’m not saying this to insult or belittle you, but because you’d get killed.”

The Sturmpanzer’s cannon drooped and she nodded. “I know” she said. Well, she should have expected that outcome.

In the early afternoon, after everyone else had been taken care of, it was finally Fang’s turn to be repaired. As the repairs were done, he and Tate drove to the outside (which was easier now that the Löwe guard was gone) to see if they were any good.

Fang rocked back and forth on his repaired tracks.  
“And?” Tate asked, “How are they?”  
“Looks good” Fang hummed. “Lemme try.”

He drove off, revving his engine zealously as he accelerated down the road, faster than Tate could ever hope to go. Tate smiled to himself as he watched the Jagdpanther enjoy his regained freedom. It had been about time that Fang was repaired; not because he was tired of towing him around (or maybe a little), but because he had seen that Fang had hated it. His freedom was one of the most important things for the other TD, and having only one track was the opposite of said freedom.

Fang eventually returned from a different street and stopped in front of his brother with screeching brakes. Tate tilted his cannon curiously.  
“You look like you’re satisfied” he said.  
Fang waved his gun.  
“It’s not too bad” he said dismissively, “My old one was better.”  
He started grinning and Tate nodded.  
The grin didn’t last long though as the Jagdpanther serious again quickly. He looked at the streets wistfully.  
“So, we’re gonna bolt now, right?” he asked.

Tate lowered his cannon.  
“Not yet” he replied soberly.  
Fang’s expression darkened considerably.  
“Getting attached already?” he teased, or at least it could have been called teasing if his voice hadn’t been so accusatory.

“Of course not!” Tate replied at once. He was worried that it had been too quickly, and added, “We’re only two! What did you envision? Sealclubbing? Risking another defeat?”

Fang dropped his gaze with a frown.  
“Defeat….” he mumbled, “That’s what we call it now?”  
Tate glared at him.  
“Come on now!” he growled.  
The Jagdpanther glared back.

Tate sighed and turned back to the direction they had come from.  
“It’s what it was” he said, more coolly that intended. But maybe that was for the best.  
Fang didn’t say anything.

The Ferdinand started driving back to the bunker.  
“Maybe we should give the AT-2 another chance. With a bit of training he would maybe make a decent platoon mate.” he said pensively.  
“That moron?” Fang asked.  
“You haven’t even seen him fight yet.”  
“I don’t think I want to.” the Jagdpanther replied, and a small, smug grin had found its way back onto his features.  
“Tch.” Tate shook his cannon.

It was the morning of the following day when the Tanking League left the bunker.

“Thank you for helping us, and we wish you all the best” Sky said to the assembled Scavengers. Even Winston was there and even though she had never understood how exactly he was leading them, she made sure to bow to him too.  
“No worries, we’ll be fine” Zaffa said with a nod.

With another bow, Sky turned around and lead her team mates away. The tanks they had left behind were about to go back inside, when Angler suddenly looked up at the sky, his expression aghast.  
Skaian turned towards him, concerned at once.

“What? What are you seeing?” the Panzer III/IV asked, even though he should have guessed the answer. But that was impossible. It was too soon. The last attack had just happened a day ago-

“Skytank…!” Angler said quietly.

“What now?” Eohelm asked as they had left Ruinberg behind them. Now that his engine worked properly again, he seemed to take a more active interest in their future endeavors again, compared to before when he had seemed almost lethargic.  
“Time to get ourselves some freaking fuel” Sky said with a optimistic grin at the morning sun.  
“Oh and also…I meant to ask this…” she then added, sounding lost in thought all of a sudden.  
“My old team…I had to leave them behind but I really wonder how they’re doing, If we could like, visit them…”

She paused and gave the Centurion a serious look.  
“I would be really grateful if we could do that.”

Eohelm nodded and she started smiling, although it was a bitter-sweet smile. Even though she would do it again any day for her brother, it was still hard to arrange herself with the idea that she had become a traitor and that it had come so far that it had been necessary to become one in the first place.

“I think the others won’t mind going there. It’s not like we have any particular destination anyway.” Eohelm said eventually.  
“Let’s see if we can even find the way back, heh” Sky said with a faint grin.

And truly, no one had much of a problem with their new goal; it would be only a matter of a few days until they’d arrive at Sky’s old base.

On the way, they successfully raided a base of tier sixes. Eohelm’s plan had worked out flawlessly and despite fighting a greater number of enemies, no one was hurt seriously. Most tanks had been able to participate, and the SPGs had played a great role on making the plan work.

The coordinated bombardment had given the enemy team the impression of high tier artillery attacking, which had caused more panic than damage – said damage had however then been dealt by the rest of the Tanking League.

Just like they had done in Himmelsdorf, the TDs – with Jack under their wing – had caused additional chaos and confusion, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, punching holes into the enemy defenses, and then popping out somewhere else almost immediately afterwards.

The battle hadn’t even been going on for long when the enemy team decided to flee, and the Tanking League let them.

The reward was enough fuel cans for everyone and congratulations on each other’s performance in their first real battle together.

And while Rex and Pepper hadn’t been able to participate, even Noob had been able to do his part, if only the initial scouting. Eohelm had asked him afterwards if he didn’t want to upgrade to a tier two, but the Leichttraktor declined, saying that he only was comfortable in his current form.

A day later however, he suddenly started talking about a “Großtraktor”, something no one had ever heard about before (which made them assume that he had made it up) and who’s defining features seemed to be looking like a bigger Leichttraktor and having a second turret…located on its rear.  
And despite a well-meant intervention, he absolutely insisted that he wanted to be this Großtraktor. Not even telling him that no TRV would do such an upgrade could make him change his mind.

However, against all expectations, they  _did_  find someone. Not far from Ruinberg, they found a TRV’s workshop. Probably by coincidence, it was as much of a tank graveyard as the town had been, except ten times creepier as it featured all kinds of never before seen abominations.

The TRV was a Bergepanther by the name of Kama, and other than her terrifying home, she was cheerful and friendly. She agreed immediately to do the upgrade, but then started fantasizing about additional modifications so feverishly that her lair suddenly started making sense. It was impossible to convince her of doing  _only_  the upgrade that Noob wanted, and that was what made him drop the idea at last – for now, at least.

Arty on the other hand had to be dragged away kicking and screaming after she had talked to Kama and been told that she could be upgraded to what sounded like some sort of Frankenstein’s monster on steroids to the others.

Kama had titled it the “Hummel 2”, but everyone who was led by reason had known right away that this was the mother of bad ideas.

“That was…a fucking experience” Sky muttered to herself as the Tanking League had finally managed to restrain Arty and be on their way, leaving behind the glorified butchery that Kama called her workshop. Sky was making sure that the Sturmpanzer didn’t run off and got that upgrade done after all by keeping an extra close optic on her.  
Arty just let out a long sigh through her vents.  
“Don’t give me that sigh” Sky said, “We probably saved your life.”

Arty continued to pout and stared at the ground for a little longer as she drove on before she turned to look at Sky.  
“When are we gonna arrive?” she asked, out of the blue.  
“Should be there soon” Sky replied and looked ahead to look for any landmarks. She recognized the surroundings already, and if she had been alone she would have known how long it would take to race back to the base. But with their slower team mates it was hard to tell.

Suddenly, Arty changed the topic.  
“I forgot to ask, what’s the base called?” she asked.  
“It’s Lakeville, why?” Sky replied.  
“Oh, just wond- oh wait! Lakeville?!?”  
“Yes??”

Now Sky was alarmed. Normally Arty was rather calm and collected even about bad news (except when the subject was artillery), but now she looked like someone had told her she was signed up for a battle to the death against a high tier scout.  
“What??” Sky asked again.  
“That’s…” Arty said slowly, giving Sky the most worried look. “That’s where my old team wanted to go.”


	50. Lakeville

Sky stood and stared at the remains of her old base, lifeless and dark before her view ports. There was no campfire, no engines. No telling when the attack happened. Only that she recognized every single one of the wrecks that were strewn around like someone had carelessly thrown them across the landscape. She could tell that the attack must have been a surprise; everyone had died in positions that were the opposite of strategic.

Her cannon was shaking as she and the others inspected the wrecks to look for any survivors. The dead tanks only amounted to a handful, which meant that either some had escaped or left the team prior to the attack.

A cold breeze was biting into her armor as she nudged another wreck in hopes of bringing this one back to life somehow. The Jumbo sported a huge hole near his engine, so she wasn’t even sure why she bothered actually, other than out of dire desperation.

«No survivors over here» one of her new team mates reported. Sky didn’t reply. She tried to tell herself that this wasn’t her team anymore, that she shouldn’t be so shocked, and that they in return wouldn’t have cared if they had found her somewhere like this, but she couldn’t help it – she  _was_ affected, and she  _was_  blaming herself.

It felt like her engine did a somersault when she heard a small wheeze from the Jumbo all of a sudden, and a croaky voice whispering out “Fuel…”.

“Get over here! Bring fuel!! Right now!” the Pershing yelled into her radio, then turned to the other medium and checked for any signs of fuel or oil loss.  
“Hang on,” she said frantically, “Hang on!”

Pepper arrived only moments later with a can of fuel, and with some effort they managed to administer it to the completely empty Jumbo. The engine started laboriously, and only shortly after he was back to his senses. Apparently his transmission was broken, and unable to move, he had eventually run out of fuel and fallen unconscious. Now he was sitting together with Sky; the Tanking League had backed up and were resting nearby to give them some privacy.

“You’ve got some nerve, showing up here after what you did.” the Jumbo muttered. Both tanks were staring at the ground to avoid the uncomfortable sensation of looking into each other’s optics.

The Pershing shot him a fierce look, taken aback. “I fucking knew that you would say that,” Sky said quietly, her gaze returning to the ground in shame. She was holding back her anger for the time being. He had every right to be angry, after all, but he clearly didn’t know the whole story - and this was about to become apparent.

“Of course I would!” the Jumbo – Crowley – snapped, getting louder. “You left us here to die! I ought to kill you now, if only to honor the rules _you_  abandoned!” He knew this would be an impossible task even if he wasn’t injured, but he still meant what he said.

As Sky lifted her gaze, he was glaring at her.

“I know,” she said simply, “but I had to. My brother is the most damn important thing to me.” She recalled something then, and added, “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.”

Crowley’s hull shivered noticeably. “Your… your brother. That’s right - he ran away during that last battle you fought with us.” He stopped looking at her so harshly, his mind beginning to churn. “Would I have done the same… I think you know the answer to that.” He looked pained, and suddenly very anxious, turret spinning around frantically, searching for something.

Sky gave him a long, serious stare. “What happened?” she asked. There hadn’t been another Sherman amongst the wrecks, she’d noted, and Sky had wondered where his brother had gone…but she had hoped it didn’t mean what she had feared it did. The Jumbo’s expression affirmed her suspicion. Her fuel tank sank.

“They took him,” Crowley gasped out finally; he had dropped the loudness, struggling to keep his voice steady. In his helplessness he was obviously blaming the Pershing, because he didn’t know what else to do. He had been thinking,  _if only we’d had a strong tier eight on our side, then maybe, just maybe,_  but it had been wistful thinking and he knew that. Sky knew better than to take his anger personally, and simply listened without interruption.

Crowley continued in despairing, desperate tones. “I couldn’t- I couldn’t do anything…! They got my transmission and then something hit me in the turret, and when I woke up the last thing I heard from him was a radio call before he went out of reach!” He traversed back and forth out of nervousness. Remorse washed over him as he recalled every horrible moment of that short fight.

“I’m sorry.” Sky said soberly.

Crowley flamed again. “I’m sure you are,” he spat, “but that won’t bring him back! I can’t even move; how am I supposed to find him now?”

“We can help.” Sky replied, giving her ex-team mate a firm but reassuring look. “We have high tiers, as well as someone who used to be part of the team that attacked you and likely took your brother; she can lead us to them.” she told him, with all the conviction inside her, “We can do this, together.”

Crowley stared back at her for a tense moment, then dropped his gaze and sighed. All the rage seemed to be gone; burnt out. He was exhausted, cold, and his hull ached where the shell had hit.

“Thank you,” he mumbled at last.

“We’ll find him, I promise.”

The Jumbo nodded slowly. “If something happens to him…” he said, trailing off.

“I understand.” Sky said, then turned to her radio. “Arty? Can you come here for a moment?”

There was a quick ‘Affirmative’, and the Sturmpanzer appeared from her resting place. “How can I help?” she asked, sounding upbeat despite the atmosphere. Sky nodded at her.

“Do you know what the plans of your old team were? Where did they want to go next?”

Arty tilted her cannon back and forth.  
“If I remember right, we wanted to go into an Italy-ish direction, I think.”

“Italy-ish?? What the hell is that?” Sky asked, shaking her gun in disbelief. Crowley mimicked her expression.

“Of course they would go to a whole different country,” he snorted bitterly, “Of course…”

“Well,” Arty continued, “they wanted to find a base where they’ll be undisturbed for some time… we heard there is a lot more space and less tanks there.” Sadly in this situation, that made sense and it was likely that Arty’s old team still wanted to go there.

“Any details on the route? I’d rather we catch them before they reach it.” Sky said.

The Sturmpanzer dropped her gaze in thought. “Uh…” she hummed.

“Come on, Arty” Sky urged.

“I’m not sure… I think they said something about the Keybit and Erlenberg…”

“They’ll pass the Province then” Crowley threw in. “If they stay there for a while we may be able to catch them.”  
“We should try there, yeah” Sky affirmed, “We could get you repaired there, too.”

“What are we gonna sell?” Arty asked curiously.

Sky tilted her turret with a drawn-out “Hmmm” as she thought about what of their possessions were dispensable in order to pay for the repairs. “I think our heavies have some tents they don’t need” she said eventually. “That should be enough for fixing a transmission.” She doubted that Rex or Eject or especially Fox would just give up their tents, but she was optimistic that she was going to be able to snatch at least one or two of them. They would just have to share from then on.

Crowley shook his turret. “Save your tents. The team that came through couldn’t take everything. You should be able to find something of value in the garages and storehouses. You’ll know where to look, Sky.” He let his cannon droop at last, feeling tired but relieved.

Sky knew that even though he couldn’t say it again, he was thankful that she and the Tanking League would be doing this for him and his brother Barfly. Technically, she was under no obligation to do anything – after all she had been kicked in absentia, but she felt that she owed them and this was something she could do to maybe make up for what she was at least partly responsible for.

The Pershing whipped around, nearly clipping Arty on the way. She grinned at the others. “So who wants to go on a vacation??” Sky asked the assembled Tanking League, “’cause I got some free tickets to Italy here!”

Some cannon barrels were raised immediately, others more hesitantly, and a couple of them lowered almost immediately afterwards. But most of them – except for two TD ones – went up again when Sky explained that this was a rescue mission of greatest importance.

Sky considered the two, and added. “Also, we’ll make a stop at Province!”

Now the last missing barrels raised as well. That was more like it.


	51. Province

“ _Arty! I thought we didn’t want to get distracted!_ ” Rex said, pulling the Sturmpanzer back by her towing ring. It was his task to make sure she didn’t run off or trade her soul for an upgrade to a high tier SPG, but this task had turned out to be harder than expected. How difficult could it be to contain a tier four artillery? The answer seemed to be: very difficult.

To make it easier for himself, he had gone ahead and put her on a figurative leash, which was a towing rope, which he _had_  to use to prevent her from getting lost in the huge market that was this town. Yes, there was a gathering place in case this happened to someone, but Arty simply couldn’t be trusted not to completely forget time and trade all equipment that wasn’t absolutely necessary for her engine to run for useless rummage if someone didn’t look after her.

“ _Yes…BUT.”_  Arty argued, her small tracks kicking up dust as she tried to brace herself against the harsh pull, “ _I’m in the middle of_ -“  
“Nein!” Rex said, “Aus!”

Arty wheezed a ‘ _weh_ ’ sound as he yanked on the cable and pulled her away from another potential deal.

“ _How could you?_   _That one was really cheap…_ ” she said afterwards as they were on their way again.  
“ _You already bought three jerry cans, just how many do you need? Don’t you think spare tracks are more important??_ ” Rex replied, obviously irritated by then. “ _You should be looking for your team but all you’re looking for is junk!_ ”  
“ _Am not…_ ” Arty said defiantly.

What he didn’t know was that she knew well what her mission was, and that she wasn’t just getting distracted. The truth was that her fuel tank felt like it was filled with fluttery things when she only thought about seeing her old team mates again. And this feeling wasn’t joy. In short, she would rather spend the whole day selling all her stuff for useless junk – as Rex had called it – than risk running into them accidentally.

And even though she suspected that it was probably a false fear, since they most likely weren’t even still here, she couldn’t shake it.

Strolling the market as well but other than her, not even with the  _intention_  to be useful, were the two captive TDs. A grim looking T29 followed them around to make sure they didn’t get lost  _on purpose_ , but they did their best to ignore him…at least seemingly.

“I don’t know, that one looks too loud” Fang said as he and Tate browsed through strips of fabric with different camouflage schemes that were hanging from the roof and sides of the booth they were standing at.

“This one here is very popular in Spain at the moment” the clerk – a TRV – said, pointing at an orange and yellow pattern.  
“I don’t remember asking you for your opinion” Fang said brusquely.  
The TRV looked like he was about to say something in return, but remained quiet. He probably thought that they were really intending to buy something from him, when reality they were only window shopping in an attempt to bore Eject to death.

“What about this one?” Tate asked, pointing at a beige scheme with a brown and green disc pattern.  
“Ugh.” Fang replied, “That’s so 1945.”  
“And this one?” the Ferdinand said. The strip was beige as well, but had random looking auburn stripes. Fang turned up his cannon.  
“It looks like someone dropped the paint bucket” he said, “You know I hate the ones with sharp edges.”  
“You hate all of them” Tate said with a shrug.

Fang nodded sagely and they moved on to another booth that sold all kinds of camo nets, where the whole ordeal repeated itself.

Sky had made herself comfortable on the western hill, where there were no booths and therefor no huge crowd either. Her sights scanned the market beneath for anyone that looked like the Sherman they were searching for, but so far there had only been false alarms. Doubts that the team was really here had started to grow inside her, especially because none of the other Tanking League members were successful with their search either.

Crowley, who had been repaired in the meantime – it had been the first thing they had done when they had gotten here – was doing the same as her, but with the same disappointing results.

“They’re not here” he growled.

Sky sighed and switched back to her view ports.

“Looks like it. We probably missed them. They had a head start after all.” She heard the Jumbo grind his new transmission, and looked at him. Sky quickly added, “We won’t give up. We’re gonna check Erlenberg next, and if they’re not there either, we’ll have to think of something.” she said.

To make sure that they hadn’t just been too early, the Tanking League stayed until the evening, only retreating outside the town when it was getting empty already.

The tanks got along peacefully here, also thanks to the strong clan that was protecting this place from troublemakers. Strangers were allowed to enter and camp, but only if they behaved, and regular patrols with tier tens made sure that this was the case. There were always some that just couldn’t obey simple rules of course, but they were usually taken care of swiftly; Province was famous for its market, not for fights.

In the evenings, when the booths were closed, the crowd migrated to the outskirts of the town, riddling it with campfires and tanks that were enjoying themselves and their company – often even alliances between teams were forged here. The atmosphere was generally a blithe one, and it was hard to resist the mood, unless one was looking fruitlessly for a lost brother.

Most of the Tanking League had taken the evening off to mingle with the crowd. Sky couldn’t blame them; their journey had taken a bleak turn, something no one had really signed up for when they had joined her new team. It only made her more grateful that they were sticking with her and helping.

Eohelm, Arty and Pepper had been the only ones who stayed at the Tanking League’s little makeshift camp to discuss what to do next.

“It’s a long way to Erlenberg” Eohelm said pensively, “If we advance at our current speed it’s going to take us a long time to get there. If Arty’s team has fast tanks, their lead will only increase. It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to catch them like this.”  
“Unless we can figure out a faster way” Pepper added.

Eohelm shook his turret. “There’s none. We can only take the most direct route and hope that they didn’t.”

“There’s got to be something we can do!” Crowley almost wailed, but he most likely knew that the only way would have been to leave some of their team mates behind. That wasn’t up for discussion, however, and he dropped his gaze when as expected, he only got sympathetic looks.

“I tried to see if I could still find our old radio frequency, but it looks like they changed it” Arty said, “Either that or they’re way out of reach.”  
“I couldn’t contact Barfly, either” Crowley muttered sadly.  
“Keep the channel open, Arty.” Eohelm added, “Maybe we’re really just out of reach. In that case you could lead us to them and maybe find out what they’re planning.”

Arty nodded dutifully.  
“I’ll tell you if I hear anything!”

With nothing else to add, they disbanded shortly after. The next day, they left Province early to lose no more time and make their way to Erlenberg.


	52. The Chase

They reached Erlenberg four days later. The town was inhabited, but the team that lived there wasn’t the one they were looking for, and there was no sight of any other team anywhere.  
Under a white flag, Sky had approached them and asked if they had been attacked lately, which they confirmed; only two days prior a team of tier five and sixes had tried to storm the town, but the attack had shattered on the Erlenberg team’s heavies. The other team had been forced to flee while they still could.

The Erlenberg team turned out to be surprisingly welcoming to strangers, and they invited the Tanking League to stay for the night and some fuel.

They had been hungry and tired from the sprint to the town, and the invitation was generally received gratefully.

There were even more positive news; among the Erlenberg team’s members was a VK 16.02 Leopard. Shy and clumsy, no one had paid much attention to her at first, but when she had been introduced as Grace, Arty had suddenly recognized her.

No one understood why the Sturmpanzer had started screaming all of a sudden, and at first they had feared something bad, but after a tense moment she had explained that she knew the Leopard from long ago. At that point said Leopard had finally recognized her as well, and for the rest of the evening, they had been inseparable.

All the more bitter was the goodbye in the morning when despite Arty’s and Grace’s pleas, there had been no way that the Leopard could join the Tanking League – the Erlenberg team needed their scout too much. All they could do was give the promise to visit again sometime, as allies.

Back on their way, after a couple of days of aimless wandering, Arty and Crowley suddenly were able to receive a weak radio signal of the team they were hunting. It was impossible to understand any distinct words with all the static, and Crowley got understandably agitated, but at least they knew that they were traveling into the right direction. The signal got slightly better as they moved on, which meant that the other team was probably resting.

However, through Crowley’s frantic efforts to contact his brother, it became apparent quickly that Barfly must have been being watched, because he only replied in cryptic ways that may as well have been parts of a conversation with someone else.

Arty on the other hand was only listening quietly to the team’s common channel, trying to pick up any hints of where they wanted to go next. There was talk of a place called Duskrock, but none of the Tanking League members could say for sure where that was, however as they kept following the radio signal around, eventually someone on the other team mentioned Augsburg – before the signal died again.

Following that lead, they chased the team around as well as they could, but whenever they reached the place they had heard about on the radio, it was always too late already; the only times when they managed to catch up was when the other team was taking an extended rest, but afterwards the distance grew again quickly.

The first snow had started falling already when they were still playing the game of cat-and-mouse, slowly traveling further southwards through the country in what seemed like endless detours.

At least Barfly seemed to be alive and well.

But it was a cold comfort. Everyone could tell that Crowley was worried out of his mind every second this chase went on.

Eohelm studied the map, checking all the roads for what seemed like the hundredth time. But it was in vain. The map wasn’t going to tell him where Arty’s old team was now. With a deep sigh, he turned to Sky.

“We lost them.” he said.

Their Leopard had just returned from a scouting run and could only nod gravely. The other team was simply moving too fast, and it seemed like they had stopped dilly-dallying as well.

Simply put, the chances that they’d catch up to them were slim.

Crowley was staring at the ground, trembling, while the others looked up as the loud noise of a plane engine could be heard above them. Overhead, the Stuka they had picked up along the way orbited around their position. Her name was Goggles, and they had found her starving and with a broken wing. After they had helped getting her repaired, she had joined them.

With her help they had hoped to be able to spot the other team again, but even though she was in the air almost all the time, it had been too late; they had already lost the team and not even she had been able to locate them again.

«Nothing» she reported, like every time. «I’ll have to land now…unless you want me to crash, of course.»  
Eohelm nodded at her. Maybe she saw it, because she veered away without any further confirmation on the Centurion’s part.

As much of a useful addition to the team Goggles was, she sure needed a lot of fuel. It made Eohelm’s ammo rack ache every time he was planning rations. Not as much as their current situation, of course. He knew that even though Sky and Eject were the ones who often ended up making the decisions, it was him who everyone relied on for guidance.

‘ _We could really use a miracle right now_ ’ he thought, but knew that hoping for some sudden luck to come their way was foolish.

He looked at the map again, feeling the looks of the others. Crowley, Sky, Arty, Pepper, Eject, and even Tate were sitting together – like they were doing often lately – trying to think of anything that could help with catching the cursed team.

To reach Italy, the other team would have to climb the Keybit first – the westernmost part of a country once known as Ostmark. And if the Tanking League attempted the same, they would fall behind even further. They couldn’t hope that they would get close enough to spy on the radio channels again, and then looking for them would be like looking for the needle in the haystack.

If only there was a shortcut of some sort….Actually, there was. But Eohelm was afraid to even suggest it. On the other hand, what other choice did they have?

“We could go through the Confoed-“ he began, but Pepper interrupted him immediately.  
“Oooohhh no! Eohelm, no!” the Leopard hissed. “We’re  _not_ going there!”  
“I see we were thinking about the same thing” Eohelm remarked wearily.

The other tanks looked at them blankly for a moment, but then Eject spoke up. “That’s a terrible idea.” he said flatly.

Even Crowley had lifted his gaze. “What? What is?” the medium asked, glaring around as he waited for anyone to explain.

“It’s madness!” Pepper continued.

Eohelm nodded slowly, as if sticking to his idea and agreeing to the Leopard 1 didn’t cancel each other out.

“ _What is?!_ ” Crowley repeated, getting irritated at everyone being so vague. He understandably didn’t care whether whatever it was was madness, as long as it would bring him closer to his brother.

“I was going to suggest that we take the route through the Confoederatio” Eohelm explained, to the sound of Pepper calling him a madman in the background.  
“There’s no way we can afford that” Eject said.  
“Unless you’re willing to-“ Tate added.  
“I’m quite fond of not dying a terrible death, thank you!” Pepper cut him short.  
“Sneaking through the Confoederatio in winter sounds like a terrible idea to me” Eject said, “I like you guys and I want to help, but I’m not doing that.”

Pepper nodded, and so did Tate. The rest of the present tanks seemed to slowly be able to guess what this argument was about, and Arty nodded hesitantly as well. Only Crowley and Sky seemed adamant.

“We’ll find a way” Sky said, “There  _has_  to be a way.”  
Pepper shook his turret as he looked at her.  
“No chance. Unless all of us give a track the guards won’t let us pass the border. But even if we  _could_ afford a guide, it’s still a dangerous trip right through the Alps.” the Leopard said.

Sky fell silent for a moment, looking at the other tanks pensively. Before anyone else could continue the conversation, she spoke.  
“So how many of you have actually been there before?” she asked.

There was a sudden hemming and hawing as each one of them had to admit that what they knew about the Confoederatio Helvetica – apart from the fact that it was occupied by the CH clan and had been for a long time – was mostly stories and rumours.

She squinted at her team mates.  
“I see.” she said.

As no one replied or added anything, the Pershing cleared her vents noisily.  
“So, listen. We won’t know if we can afford passing through if we don’t try. Maybe they’ll even make it cheaper for us if we say we’re on a rescue mission, who knows?” she said, and sincerely hoped that those guys would really have some compassion.  
“What do you say? If all else fails, we can always look for a safer route.”

Which hopefully wouldn’t be the case, since safer in that case would necessarily mean slower. And then their last hope of catching up would be gone.

“Can I count on you?”

She looked at Eject and the others.  
The T29 rumbled a “Yeah”, but added, “But if it gets too dangerous, I’m out, and I’ll turn back.”

The rest of the present tanks nodded in agreement.

“Thank you.” Sky said, “That’s all for now, I guess. Let’s go tell the others we’re moving on.”

Their little meeting dissolved, but Crowley stayed with her. Sky sighed deeply.

“That could have gone wrong” she said, “I had no fucking clue that there’s a clan territory down there…”

The Jumbo frowned at her. “You don’t have to do this,” he said softly, “Traitor you may be, but you’ve got your own family to worry about. A team that needs you more.”

Sky was silent for a moment, then she shrugged. “But I’m doing it anyway,” she finally said, “and you know what? I  _do_  have to do this. No way I could live with myself if I didn’t.”

As they were marching on – this time strictly southward – Arty was approached by a certain Leichttraktor. She had assumed that he’d want to talk to her about their next destination, since that had been what was on her mind, but apparently there was another urgent concern.

“Shhh…Do you hear that?” he asked, giving her a mischievous look. Arty squinted, straining to listen to what he was hearing.  
Over the sound of the engines, there was something like…a hum?

Noob started cackling as he saw her confused expression.  
“It’s Herr!” he said.  
“Herr?”

Arty looked ahead, where the two oblivious captive TDs were driving.  
“The Ferdi” Noob replied, nodding his gun at the boxy backside of the Ferdinand.  
“What is he humming?” Arty asked with a frown. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she didn’t know where to put this melody.  
“No idea! It could be anything, really!” Noob grinned.

The SPG tilted her cannon.  
“No, I know that song!” she said.  
Noob looked at her incredulously.  
“Wha-“ he started to ask.  
“Yep! I’ve heard this before!” Arty said, sounding excited all of a sudden. Noob still didn’t look like he believed her. To him this humming was absolutely unrecognizable.  
“If you say so…” he said and went back to minding his own business.

Arty wobbled on her suspension, unsure whether she should go and just ask the Ferdinand which song that was. Those two were still intimidating to her, and she didn’t want to get on their bad side by bothering them. But then again who knew if she got another chance to ask this…?

“Herr Weidner…?”

Tate blinked and looked back. A Sturmpanzer had appeared at his side and was looking at him expectantly. Before he could say anything, she spoke up.  
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, as if that was something that required permission.

The Ferdinand snorted.  
“What’s the matter?”  
To his other side, he noticed how Fang suddenly seemed to decide that he needed space and accelerated ahead of them.  
Arty’s voice directed his attention back to the small SPG.

“This song you were humming…I think I know it!” she said.  
“Do you now?” he asked.  
The Sturmpanzer nodded eagerly.  
“Yes, but…I don’t know the words…”  
She looked down abashedly.  
“Can you teach me?” she then asked.

Tate couldn’t help but smile.  
“I suppose I could.” he said, “It goes like this…”

“Und wenn wir marschieren,“ he sang quietly as they drove next to each other, “Dann leuchtet ein Licht! Das Dunkel und Wolken durchbricht…”

It only took a few tries until Arty could sing along, and soon they were singing the whole song. Much to their surprise, more voices joined theirs – as they looked back they could see Fox and Rex grin as they joined in. Rex in particular was being the opposite of quiet. They also looked at Noob, but he wasn’t singing, just staring in disbelief.

Arty grinned to herself, thinking that the marching had just become much better and a lot less boring.

The rest of the Tanking League could only look on in confusion, as none of them knew how this had happened all of a sudden and no one even understood what the song was about.  
“What are you Germans singing about now?” Eject asked the Jagdpanther that happened to be near him.  
Fang shrugged defensively, but said nothing.


	53. Confoederatio Helvetica

“Oh dear…this guy!” Arty cried out, throwing her cannon up. “That was so easy!”  
Jack nodded sternly and Noob giggled. Awol was shaking his gun.  
“Third wrong question already” he mumbled, “One more and he’ll-“

“What are you guys talking about?” a loud voice suddenly asked. Behind them, their team’s Stuka’s huge form appeared.  
“Next question!” Arty announced, not paying the newcomer any mind.  
“The quiz show is on” Jack explained to Goggles.  
«What is the average armour thickness of a Panzer III?» the radio moderator asked. Jack had turned up the volume of his radio so Goggles would be able to hear the show too.

The low tiers started making their guesses, but this question was more difficult than the others.  
“Fifteen millimeters” Noob said with firm confidence. Awol tilted his cannon with a frown.  
“African or European?” he asked, but Arty only shrugged.  
“He didn’t say” she pointed out.

They could hear the show guest hem and haw.  
“That’s unfair” Jack griped, “He has to say which version!”  
“Who the hell even knows things like that” Goggles said with her ailerons awry.

Finally the show guest gave an answer.  
“Fifty millimeters” he said, or rather asked.  
Noob already said “Boo!” when suddenly the chime on the radio indicated a right answer.

The guest cheered, and the low tiers shared looks that ranged from surprised to irritated.  
«You win….an enhanced gun laying drive!» the moderator exclaimed and the guest cheered even more.  
“A gun laying drive??” Arty echoed, “That guy has more luck than brains!”

Before more complaints could be voiced, the next round started.  
«Our next guest is a Char B1 from Sachsen!»

There was canned applause and the show proceeded, but Goggles soon had heard enough of the shallow tank entertainment. She didn’t know the answer to a single question, but frankly she didn’t really care.

She wished that she could be in the air right then, but the weather was more than just averse. Heavy snowfall had turned the hilly landscape white, and the still falling flakes made it hard to see further than a couple of hundred meters. No chance she was going to risk crashing with these conditions.

The little break they had taken had just ended, and she rolled along with the tanks on the badly maintained road. The bumps and potholes made her hop ever so often, something the tanks with their tracks didn’t have to deal with. Goggles’ small wheels however caught every little imperfection in the road.

Another problem was the border. A snow and ice covered sign announced it, and the road fanned out into several lanes which were adorned with small, booth-like buildings. They were derelict, obviously not used in a long time. And entirely in the way.

As the others passed through the lanes, she had to stop as it became apparent that her wings wouldn’t fit.

She blew air through her vents in frustration. The little puffs of vapour got blown away by the wind immediately.

Eohelm had stopped as well and looked back and forth between her and the gate.  
“Do you think you could fly over it?” he asked. Goggles looked up at the sky and spun her propellers disapprovingly.   
“Can’t you just tear those buildings down?” she asked.

The Centurion tilted his cannon, almost sheepishly.  
“I don’t know if destroying something is the best greeting when entering a clan’s territory.” he said.

Goggles looked along the booths. There were tank traps to either side of the strange complex, as far as she could see – which wasn’t very far, but she imagined that they went on for quite the distance to force people to come through here.

“So you’re gonna leave me behind or what?” the Stuka asked dryly.  
“Of course not” Eohelm said and looked at the buildings again. “Could you…like…jump?” he asked after a moment of thought.  
“Planes don’t work that way” Goggles replied deadpan.  
Eohelm shrugged.  
“You know what? Forget it. I’ll fly.” Goggles sighed and turned around to take a run-up.

Stopping several hundred meters away, she looked at the vague shapes that the buildings had turned into, almost swallowed completely by the wall of snowflakes. The wind was dragging harshly at her wings; a little stronger and she would have worried about tipping over.

With determination, she planted her wheels firmly on the road. She had to focus now. A little mistake, and this wouldn’t work out…and she didn’t feel like breaking another wing.

She set herself into motion, tried to avoid the bumps as she accelerated. The buildings grew closer at a worrying speed, and they were way too close already as she was finally able to pull her nose up. She rose up into the cold air – and immediately the wind hit her and pushed her to the side violently.

She managed to catch herself in the last second, steered into a stable position again, only for the wind to hit again. This time she didn’t recover fully and grazed someone’s turret as she passed the buildings and the tanks behind it.

“Watch out!” she yelled and the Tanking League scattered in alarm as the plane came crashing down on them. The Stuka hit the ground, but her undercarriage endured it; but she lost control, swerved off the road, and dove right into a pile of snow.

“I’m fine…!” she said in a muffled voice as the others started surrounding her with concerned expressions. “…someone right me?”

Her third wheel spun in the air helplessly and she flailed her flaps to emphasize her words. It took the collaborative effort of Fox and Rex to pull the Stuka out and put her back on her wheels. Luckily, the snow had absorbed the impact, and except for a few scratches, Goggles really was fine.

They could be on their way again.

Leaving the border behind, not only Sky got the feeling of being watched. The poor weather only made it worse, as the snow continued to conceal their surroundings.

Every shadow and snowdrift started looking like hostile tanks, but if someone was observing them, they weren’t taking any action yet.

Even as it started getting dark, the Tanking League was still traveling undisturbed. They decided to take a break for the evening and night, and one of the subjects of their conversations ended up being the total lack of any contact and that it was entirely possible that what they had heard about this province must have only been rumours.

“No one’s keeping guard here” Pepper said, “I don’t get it.”  
“Well, I wouldn’t want to live here either” Crowley said with a frown, shivering from the cold.  
“Maybe they just left at some point” Arty suggested with a shrug.  
“A huge clan just leaving its territory? That seems unlikely…” Pepper said, frowning as well.

The guessing and discussion went on for a while, but eventually they decided to let the matter rest as they couldn’t come to a conclusion. A completely different discussion however was still held not far away.

Fang gave his brother an angry look. He didn’t want to follow the others into this wintery hell, so again he had brought up a possible escape with Tate. But the old stubborn Ferdinand wasn’t having any of it.  
There was only one possible explanation for Fang.

“Getting attached after all? Is that why we’re not leaving?” the Jagdpanther asked sharply. Tate didn’t like his interrogating tone.  
“That’s nonsense. You know that.” he retorted, just as sharply.  
Fang glared at him defiantly.

“What’s keeping us from leaving then? That guy, the AT-2, he can come with us!” he hissed.  
“He’s only a tier five, he’s not ready” Tate replied.  
“Excuses! I know why you want to stay. You _like_  them.”

The Jagdpanther countered his brother’s dark look with an even darker one.

“Old Tate’s getting soft” he said, his voice dry and mocking.

Tate remained silent and glared at him. Suddenly his expression turned alarmed and his look wandered past his platoon mate.

“Look” he said, lowering his voice.  
Fang gave him a puzzled look, then started turning around, but Tate stopped him.  
“Use your optics” he hissed.

Even more confused about the need to be secretive, he switched to the backwards facing optics on his superstructure.  
It took him a moment to see what Tate meant.  
Not too far away, a shape was visible – barely visible – against the hills. It was as white as its surroundings; something was fluttering in the wind. Before he could make out any details, the figure backed up and disappeared behind the hills.

Fang looked at Tate again.  
“There’s someone” he said, his voice lowered as well.  
Tate hummed a “Yeah” and tilted his cannon.  
“We’re being watched after all…” he said pensively.  
“Should we tell the others?” Fang asked with a look at the hill the other tanks were resting behind. The T29 was sitting on the crest and watching them, but it seemed like he hadn’t seen what they had.  
Tate watched the spot where the strange figure had disappeared for a moment longer before he nodded.

“A5.” Sky said confidently. Rex’ expression crumbled. He threw his map down with an angry huff.  
“Hit. You win” he mumbled.  
Sky grinned, but had no time to celebrate her victory as Eject approached them with a grim expression.  
“A word” he said, his voice not boding well.  
“What’s wrong?” Sky asked, rightfully concerned. The T29’s frown was deeper than usual.  
“We’re being watched, no idea by whom, but it could be bad news. The TDs saw someone.”

Now Sky was frowning too. It could be a scout of another team that was planning an attack, or possibly the clan that was supposed to be here had finally decided to show up. She didn’t like either option.  
“We’ll need more guards.” she said thoughtfully. The thought to move on crossed her mind, but she discarded it almost right away. It was unlikely that they’d be able to shake anyone off, and they would be vulnerable while on the move.

She looked around. In the distance, mountains protruded into the sky, but where they were right then, there was only hills and some trees, forming a big corridor of sorts that they had been following so far. She realized that this place was hard to defend in case of an attack.

“How long would it take to reach those mountains?” Sky thought out loud.  
“Too long, probably” Eject murmured.  
“Well shit. Alright, we’ll stay here.”

Sky turned to her radio.  
“Everyone! We’re being watched. Keep your optics open and report at once if you see anything that looks even  _remotely_  suspicious. Thank you!” After receiving positive answers, she went on. “I will go guarding. Crowley and Noob, you should go too.” The addressed tanks agreed and presumably went about carrying out their tasks right away.

The Pershing sighed nevertheless. “I hope that’s enough. We could  _really_  use some high tier lights.” The heavy tanks just gave her agreeing looks. She nodded at them and made her way to the border of their small makeshift camp.

The vague ambient light that had been all that they had seen of the sun had disappeared by now, and it was getting awfully dark. That and the still ongoing snow storm made active scouting hard, which was why the guards had to find a spot somewhere outside the camp, stay there, and hope that they’d notice if someone was trying to get past them. Sky at least could rely on her sixth sense for that purpose.

At night it was even colder, and Sky felt like her cannon was about to freeze off. Ever since they had passed the border, she could have sworn that it had gotten much colder; the wind really didn’t help. Snow was already gathering on her. If it was this terrible here already, how unbearable would it be once they really reached the mountains? Clearly, this province was no place for tanks. Whoever lived here had to be mad.

She was deep in thought when she noticed someone approaching – but it was a friend. The Jumbo nodded at her as he stopped next to her. Sky didn’t bother asking him why he wasn’t on his position. He didn’t waste his time with small talk either.

“So what is the plan?” he asked, frowning at the dark.

“We’re gonna stay here for now” Sky replied, knowing well that he wouldn’t like the answer. And he didn’t. His scowl gave it away easily. “It’s too dangerous,” Sky continued quickly, giving him a sober look. “You can’t look for your brother if you’re dead.”

Crowley couldn’t argue with that, and after moment of silence, he trundled off.

The rest of the night went past without any further interruptions. Sky had already started thinking that the terribly cold night would never end, when finally everything around her seemed to get light again. It could hardly be called a proper sunrise, but at least sometime during the night, the snow had stopped falling even though the wind was still present. Thick clouds still covered the sky and blocked out the rising sun. Sky still kept a watchful optic on her surroundings, even more so now that she could actually see again. She fought her way out of the pile of snow that her position had turned into and started patrolling until she was too tired to go on.

Cresting the hill ridges, she could see the Tanking League down in the corridor. They were at different stages of waking up, and the Pershing would have loved to be in their place, but at least she would be able to get some sleep now. She suppressed a yawn. On the other hills, she could see the other guards returning as well. Eohelm and Pepper would relieve them.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

As the guards reached the bottom of the corridor, Sky suddenly noticed movement on the hill ridges. Before anyone could react, white painted tanks crested both sides of the corridor. At least thirty guns were pointed at the Tanking League. Among them, there were Hetzers, AMXs, but also Pattons and Centurions. Nothing that would have been a match for the highest tiered members of the Tanking League in a regular fight, but right now no one dared to even twitch. Where had they all come from? When Sky had been patrolling, she hadn’t seen anyone anywhere!

“Grüezi mitenand!” a white Jagdpanther called out; he was wearing a camo net that fluttered in the wind. He only got looks that ranged from blank to hostile in response and went on.  
“Are you lost? This is the Confoederatio Helvetica, property of the CH clan, and you are not allowed to be here. Turn around now!”

Sky was the first one of the Tanking League to speak up.  
“Can we speak to your leader? We really need to pass!” she shouted back.  
The stranger tilted his cannon.  
“You can speak to me.” he replied plainly.

Despite the guns pointed at her, Sky dared to turn around to face the tank destroyer and roll forward a little.  
“We’re on a rescue mission, and going through your province is the only way we can make it in time” Sky explained. Unlike she would have done to any other stranger, she made sure to describe their situation to this one – if anything she hoped that the strangers would think of it as a good enough reason to let them pass.  
“Well, can you pay?” the Jagdpanther asked warily, “You don’t look like you can.”  
“How can you know?” Sky asked.  
“I don’t see a convoy with supplies anywhere” the stranger said with a smile that sounded patronizing.  
Sky gaped at him. A whole convoy? Who did these guys think they were to demand such ludicrous payment? She had to hold back a string of curses that would have been directed at them. Before she could come up with anything  _else_ to say however, Crowley jumped forward.  
“You  _have_  to let us pass! Didn’t you hear? It’s a rescue mission!” he shouted.

The Jagdpanther gave him a look that was colder than the wind.  
“If you cannot pay, you cannot pass. We will escort you back to the border. You’ll have to find another way.”

There was nothing they could do.

Sky wasn’t the only one seething with rage as they had to turn around and started making their way back to where they had come from, followed by the Swiss tanks who didn’t take their gun sights off them for even a second.

The Pershing was afraid to talk to Crowley, who was driving along quietly, his gaze fixed on the ground ahead of him. She could tell by looking at his suspension how tense he was. The same silence had befallen the whole Tanking League; no one was saying a word. There was none of the usual chatter at first. Some of them were probably secretly relieved that they wouldn’t have to go through this inhospitable province, but everyone was aware of what the meaning of this defeat was so the relief was limited.

Only after a while some conversations started again, but in hushed tones.

Around midday, they reached the border again. The clan dropped them off there and left them to themselves. It was likely though that they were still being watched to make sure they didn’t just turn around and continue their original path.


	54. Another Way

The mood at the border was subdued. Everyone was just standing around, clueless what to do next and waiting for someone to tell them. Crowley was in the process of demolishing one of the buildings, and Sky was staring at the horizon, trying to contain her own anger.

“It’s not fair…” she whispered, her voice strained.

Eohelm was sitting next to her and looked at the ground with a nod. For once he didn’t have an ace up his sleeve – crossing this province had literally been the only way to catch up.

“I told you,” Pepper said quietly, but fell silent as he caught a venomous glare from Sky.

The Pershing’s gaze wandered across the hills and the road. If only there was a way to sneak past these guards…but her team was everything but sneaky. None of the Swiss tanks was anywhere to be seen anymore, but surely they were just waiting for the Tanking League to make a second attempt at crossing their territory.

Suddenly, her optics got caught by a flat figure that seemed to approach them. It was another white tank. A StuG III G. Its front was sporting the red emblem of the CH clan. Sky frowned at it as it got closer. What else did they want from them? Her team mates noticed it too and a couple of guns were pointed at the approaching stranger. The StuG got closer undeterredly, eventually stopping a couple of meters away from Sky.

“Grüezi” the stranger said with a small salute. Sky just wanted to wring his cannon. That greeting already had a negative connotation to her.  
“What do you want?” she asked harshly.  
The StuG looked at her, his expression almost apologetic.  
“I want to…help” he said. Sky couldn’t help but think that he sounded guilty. Which he really should. Her expression softened somewhat.  
“Help how?” she asked.  
He looked over his fender.  
“I know a secret way. If we are lucky, I could smuggle you through the province in a couple of days…”  
Sky gave the StuG a wary glance.  
“And what do you want in return? This sounds dangerous.”  
He shook his cannon. “Nothing, I promise.”

Normally, Sky would have been hesitant to accept this offer – it seemed fishy to her that a total stranger would show up and tell them he could do something for them that probably meant risking his life in case something went wrong. Such a favour was more than just compassion. But they weren’t in a place to deny any offers. The StuG probably had his reasons.

The Pershing nodded cautiously.  
“But if this turns out to be a trap, you’ll wish you were never constructed” she said grimly.  
“No need to worry. I just want to help.” he said with another shake of his cannon, “You should tell your team to get ready. The sooner we can leave, the better.”

Sky couldn’t help but smile at him. She really wanted to believe that this was going to go well. And she couldn’t wait to tell Crowley the good news. Before she turned around to tell the others, she gave the StuG another pensive look.  
“What’s your name?” she asked.  
“Norbert” the StuG said with a small bow of his cannon.

Only moments later, the Tanking League was ready to leave and Norbert lead them to a path that lead away from the main road. Snow started to fall again as they followed it. Norbert always went ahead, keeping watch for any of his clan mates. It seemed to work well, because they were back to traveling undisturbedly, and this time for real.

More than one tank asked Sky why this stranger was helping them, and after the fifth request she finally decided to go and ask for the reasons herself. He seemed twitchy, flinching noticeably as she approached him.  
“Oh, hey” he said with a smile as he realized it was only her.  
“Norbert,” Sky said, “If this isn’t too personal, would you mind me asking why you are helping us? You didn’t say earlier.”  
He looked at her for a moment, but then averted his gaze.  
“It is personal, yes” he said with a certain wistfulness in his voice, “But I can tell you.”  
Sky waited patiently as he searched for the right words.  
“We always send strangers away” he said eventually, looking at the path ahead, “No matter if they are weak or need our help, we just send them away. You weren’t the first ones who really need to pass our territory. I couldn’t watch another time.”  
Sky hummed a thoughtful “I see”. He turned towards her again and she went on. “Thank you again for helping us. I know you are probably risking a lot.”  
The StuG nodded his cannon.  
“If they catch us they will kill me.” He gave her a small, brave smile, and added, “Let’s hope that won’t happen, huh?”

The Pershing admired his optimism despite his obvious worry and simply nodded, returning the smile.

In the meantime, the detachment of Swiss tanks had returned to their makeshift base not far from where they had surrounded the Tanking League. Alac picked up a can of fuel and joined the others at the campfire. The Jagdpanther had been the one who had found the foreigners, and at his request, a group of soldiers had come here to escort them back out of their country. It had taken a while for them to arrive, but generally they always made it in time.

He sipped the fuel and listened to the conversations. There wasn’t a hint of guilt on his mind about having turned away this team even though they were on a ‘rescue mission’. It mattered little to him. They couldn’t make exceptions, no matter how urgent the foreigners’ business was. Now that this matter was settled, the detachment would return to their bunker, and Alac would go back to the border to return to his post. Not yet though, since he would first get refuelled and stay to talk a bit.

One of the Hetzers approached him after a while.  
“Hey, have you seen Norbert?” she asked, “I can’t find him anywhere.”  
Alac raised his cannon in a questioning expression.  
“Doesn’t he respond to the radio?” he asked.  
The Hetzer shook her cannon. “I tried to call him but he doesn’t reply.”  
Alac’s view ports narrowed. That was strange. How could a StuG just disappear? Normally something like this would mean that someone got caught by an avalanche, but this wasn’t the highlands. Avalanches didn’t happen here. But what else could cause a tank to get lost all of a sudden?

“I’ll try contacting him too” Alac said, wary now. “Ask the others if anyone noticed him leaving.”  
The Hetzer saluted and went to do as she was told, and Alac tried the StuG’s private frequency.  
“Norbert?” he asked into his radio. “Norbert. It’s me, Alac. Report.”

There was a long silence and Alac was about to repeat his call when suddenly there was a hesitant response.  
«…yes?» the StuG answered.  
Alac frowned.  
“Why weren’t you responding? Where are you?”  
Norbert cleared his vents.  
«I’m still at the border.» he said.  
“Why?“ Alac asked sharply. It was unusual for one of them to act like this and just act on their own. No one had given him the order to stay behind.  
«I wanted to make sure that the foreigners don’t come back» the StuG replied after a moment of silence.  
Alac huffed with irritation. He didn’t like it when people just made decisions on their own.  
“That’s my job.” he said sternly, “But alright. Next time tell someone before you just disappear.”  
«Sorry» Norbert said quickly.

Alac ended the transmission and turned back to the campfire. Well, if Norbert was looking after the border, the Jagdpanther at least wouldn’t be in a hurry to return to his position. He didn’t mind staying with the others for a bit longer – always patrolling the border on his own could get lonely. He could also help striking the camp if he stayed longer. And then afterwards, he would return and send Norbert back.

Sky drove up to the StuG, her expression concerned. He had suddenly stopped and was shaking, but not from the cold.  
“What happened?” she asked, fearing the worst.  
“N-Nothing” Norbert stammered. He gave her an aghast look.  
“Then what’s wrong?”  
The tank destroyer shook his cannon.  
“One of my clan mates called me and wanted to know where I am.” he said slowly.  
“And? What did you tell them?” Sky asked.  
“I told him I’m still at the border” Norbert replied. “I think he won’t come looking for me anytime soon.”  
“Let’s hope so” Sky said with a frown. It dawned on her that the StuG’s plan had probably been rather spontaneous and that he probably hadn’t really thought it through. “What’re you gonna do if he does?”  
Norbert dropped his gaze.  
“Then we’ll hopefully have come far enough that they won’t catch us.” he said seriously. With that he set himself into motion again. Sky fell back to the others.

The fierce wind had eventually worn off, which meant that Goggles could fly again. Norbert had been hesitant about letting her, but he hadn’t been able to disprove her argument that no one would be looking into the skies as no one would expect someone to be there. Plus she would be able to spot any guards in their way.

It was good to stretch her wings again, and to be in the air again. From the ground, she hadn’t been able to see anything but the hills around them, but now as she was high above, the landscape revealed itself to her.

Her friends on the ground soon reached an area that was riddled with rises that replaced the soft hills – the mountains they had seen in the distance. Goggles’ gaze wandered along the serpentine path they were following; it hugged the side of one of the mountains, leading them past forests, frozen lakes, and rivers, through a land that would be lush and green during summer. Now the brilliant white of the snow was almost blinding, even without the sun shining on it directly. The snow cover was almost untouched, except for some trails left behind by animals. Small bumps hinted at snow-clad houses. Without the snow storm, this land seemed almost idyllic, contrary to the impression it had given them so far.

The Stuka flew a big turn. The mountains went on for as far she could see, but there were no other tanks anywhere to be seen. As much as she wanted to stay in the air and take in more of the sight, she knew that she had to return to the ground to conserve fuel.

“Over here” Norbert said and showed Sky a small roadside chapel. He drove behind it and she followed him. Opening a small door, he revealed a pile of fuel cans. Sky grinned.  
“You guys are well-organized” she said.  
“Every clan member knows what to look for when they need to refuel” the StuG explained with a smile. “Here, help me” he said and picked up one of the cans by its handle with his cannon.

It was the end of the second day of their journey, and so far everything was going well. The cold was still taking a lot out of them, but without the sharp winds and the snowfall, it didn’t feel as dire. No one was in danger of freezing to death. Norbert had still warned them about using their cannons; the cold could cause all sorts of damage to a gun that was being fired. Luckily there was no need for that at the moment.

Norbert still worried about his Jagdpanther clan mate. Justifiedly so, because back at the makeshift camp, said Jagdpanther was starting to get fidgety. It was time for him to finally return. The others had already expressed their confusion about his long stay, and about Norbert’s behaviour. There had been no word from the StuG, and Alac was starting to get a strange feeling about this.

“Norbert, can you hear me?” he eventually asked over his radio as it started getting dark. This time Norbert answered almost immediately.  
«Yes? What is it?» he asked, and this time Alac couldn’t help but be more alarmed by how cautious the other tank sounded. Something had to be wrong.  
“Are the foreigners still there?” Alac asked.  
«Yes…I’m watching them though, don’t worry.» Norbert replied. Alac got more and more suspicious.  
“You can return, I will come back and take care of it” he said with a frown.  
«No need to!» Norbert said quickly, «I have this under control!»  
The Jagdpanther paused. Something wasn’t right. Now he was sure.  
“Alright” he said slowly. Norbert remained silent and Alac turned around. He looked for one of his superiors and found the Patton sitting at the campfire.

“Sergeant?” he addressed the medium with a bow of his cannon. The Patton turned towards him.  
“Yes?”  
“I am going back to the border to retrieve Norbert. I think something might have happened.” the Jagdpanther said gravely. “No one must tell him that I’m returning. It could be nothing and he could just be acting strange, but I want to make sure.”  
The Patton’s expression turned to a concerned one.  
“Be careful. Do you need assistance?”  
Alac nodded.  
“I’ll take two Hetzers with me, if you allow it.”  
“Of course. Report at once if you know more.”  
“Thank you Sir” Alac said and retreated to pick his companions.

As soon as two volunteers had been found, Alac immediately left the camp and they made their way back to the border. Going almost at top speed, it didn’t take nearly as long as it had taken the slow Tanking League, and they arrived there late at night. The clouds had disappeared and the moon was lighting up the snowy landscape, providing good sight for the Jagdpanther and his escorts. They checked the typical lookout points, and also checked the border crossing point, but neither Norbert nor the foreigners could be seen anywhere.

Alac heavily sat down on his suspension.  
“I knew it” he muttered. One of the Hetzers gave him an affected look.  
“They took him…!” he said.  
The Jagdpanther frowned at him and tuned in to Norbert’s frequency.  
“It’s me again. Are you still at the border?” he asked. He waited. Eventually, an answer came.  
«Yes, why?» the StuG asked. Alac’s expression darkened.  
“We’re at the border. You’re not here.” he said dryly. Alac didn’t expect the StuG to be able to talk freely if he was kidnapped, so he didn’t expect a proper answer. The second Hetzer was already reading the track marks that lead away from the border and onto a path that Alac knew normally wasn’t used. A perfect way to sneak past their guards.

But against his expectations, he got a very revealing answer.  
«Right.» Norbert said, his voice unusually sober. «I’m with the foreigners. I am escorting them through the province.»

The Jagdpanther was stunned. He stared at the ground in front of him, trying to make sense of what he had just heard. That was impossible! That was…forbidden.  
“Who ordered you to do that?” he snapped.  
«No one. I decided myself.» Norbert replied, his tone now turning slightly shaky. Alac shook his cannon. Why? Why was the StuG doing this? He didn’t know him beyond a loose acquaintance, but he was generally a pleasant one, cocky in battle but not in any way attracting negative attention.  
“That is treason.” the Jagdpanther said grimly.  
«I know.» Norbert said plainly, but then there was a loud noise in the background. «I’m sorry. Goodbye.» the StuG shouted over the noise that was growing in volume, then the transmission was cut off.

The two Hetzers looked at Alac, just as shocked and speechless.  
“What was that noise?” one of them asked.  
“Sounded like an avalanche” the second one guessed.  
Alac snarled. “I hope it hit him” he growled. “I can’t believe he’s doing this!”  
“It means they must have reached the highlands already” the first Hetzer said, trying to be helpful.  
The Jagdpanther turned towards the path the foreigners had taken.  
“I’m going after them. You two return to the others” he said with grim determination in his voice.  
“We can come with you!” the second Hetzer said, but Alac shook his cannon.  
“You’re too slow. Tell the commanders to send out scouts. We have to find them.”

The Hetzers nodded and said their goodbyes. Alac raced off.


	55. Traitor

Norbert looked at the opposing mountainside. The Tanking League had stopped and watched as well. An avalanche was descending, sweeping away everything in its path with its tremendous, violent power. It could be heard even here. They looked on with silent awe.  
No one wanted to imagine what it would be like to be caught in that.

“Another reason why you shouldn’t fire your cannon out here – you could trigger one of those” Norbert said to Sky, who nodded solemnly.  
“As long as no one finds us, we won’t have to” the Pershing said, her undertone however clearly showing her worry that this might just be the case soon. She had heard the radio conversation.  
“We have an advantage” the StuG replied. Sky tilted her cannon inquiringly. Norbert pointed at her team’s Stuka.  
“She can keep scouting, and we can avoid them” he said, sounding as confident as the situation allowed. He then frowned as he looked at the path behind them. “Let’s also hope it snows again. It will be easy to follow our tracks if it doesn’t.”  
“You know, if we make it through this,” Sky said thoughtfully, “you could join our team if you want. It would be the least we could do after what you’re doing for us.”  
The StuG looked taken aback for a moment. He then nodded.  
“Thank you for the offer. I will think about it.”

Sky turned to what was lying ahead of them. The avalanche had ended by now and she didn’t have to raise her voice as much anymore.  
“Is there any other path we could take? Or a way off the paths?” she asked pensively.  
“That would be very dangerous.” Norbert said, “We can switch to another road soon, but we’ll have to follow this one for a bit longer.”  
“I see.” Sky hummed.

From that point on, Goggles was in the air almost incessantly. After a short break where Sky and the others who had guarded the night before had finally gotten some sleep, they moved on, eventually reaching the point Norbert had talked about where the road forked. It was then when their airplane spotted the first scout. Like they had worried, a tank had shown up on the path they were following.  Goggles had asked for permission to take them out, and even though Norbert had advised against it, it had been Eohelm’s idea to do it anyway. That way the Swiss would think that they were on this path while they could take the other road and advance there instead. The Stuka had then made short work of the tank; it had been dead before it had known what was even happening.

Alac’s engine was roaring as he was rushing along the road. He had been going full throttle for the past hours, hellbent on finding the foreigners. He hadn’t taken any breaks either, as he knew that he had a long way to catch up. But he was much faster than the Tanking League, and he knew that he could make it. He could catch them. And then he would deal with the filthy traitor. He too had reached the mountainous area, always following the track marks the foreigners had left behind. There was no sign yet of them other than their trail.

A comm from one of the commanders reached him.  
«One of the scouts was killed near Stans. We’re sending a unit there.»  
Alac stared at the road ahead. Stans? They had come so far already? How was that possible?

Trying to drive even faster, he passed the place where the avalanche had happened, and reached the fork in the roads. Night had long turned into day, and he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Command had told him that another scout had been taken out, but along the path that he had been following so far. The strange thing about that was that the track marks switched to the other road here.

Again, he was stumped, and despite the physical evidence of the tanks going the other way, the conflicting reports from the killed scouts made him consider following the original path. Maybe they had found a way of faking their track marks?

Only then it dawned on him how they pulled off this trick.

It hadn’t occurred to him or anyone else that there was a plane with them after all who could have done this – that line of thinking was simply not obvious to tanks who weren’t used to one of the rare planes being around them.

He informed command about his suspicion and chose the other road. If he kept up the pace, he would have them soon.

«No scouts anywhere» Goggles reported.  
“That could be bad” Sky sighed. She looked at Norbert. The StuG stood tense on his suspension.  
“They’re onto us” he said, then turned towards his radio, addressing Goggles.  
“Can you watch our road again?” he asked the Stuka.  
«On it» she replied.

Soon after she called again, sounding alarmed.  
«There’s a group of tanks coming your way» she said, frowning audibly. «That’s more than I can safely take out» she continued.  
“How many?” Sky asked.  
«Twenty. High tiers, I think.»

The tanks shared shocked looks. Sky tried to keep her cool.  
“We’ll need to avoid them. Is there another way we could take?” she asked Norbert.  
He thought about it for a moment, then waved his cannon at the direction they had come from.  
“If we turn back and drive for a bit, we could pass through a field. There is another road beyond it.”

Sky had no doubt that they had no chance against the group that was coming for them, and even though this detour would slow them down, she nodded. She told the others and the Tanking League turned around.

Passing through the field turned out to be difficult. They kept getting stuck in the snow, drawing out the whole ordeal and causing them to lose a lot of time.  
In the end, all of them reached the road unscathed, however.

“We’ll reach the border in a couple of hours if everything goes right” Norbert reassured Sky. She looked at the horizon worriedly, where she could make out a shape in the sky – Goggles was flying circles above.  
“Good.” she said quietly.  
Norbert hesitated, averting his gaze.  
“I’m worried about my clan mate Alac too. I think he is following us” he mumbled, “He’s relentless, and he’s fast. He’s probably near.”  
Sky nodded sternly.  
“We’ll keep our optics open” she replied, “I’ll ask Pepper to scout behind us.”  
Norbert gave her a tense nod and drove on.

When the track marks split up and lead into two different directions once again, Alac had no doubt which one to follow this time. The detachment they had sent when they thought they had been sure where the foreigners would show up hadn’t been able to find them, which could only mean that the Tanking League had taken the way through the field.

His broad tracks helped as he made his way through the field as well.

The Jagdpanther’s anticipation was growing. They had to be near. He would get to kill the traitor himself. Norbert had betrayed them, the clan, the country. And Alac couldn’t help but take it personally.

Reaching the road, he continued his chase at full speed. And true – after an hour he could see movement in the distance. That had to be them. Knowing that he wouldn’t stand a chance against all of them, he decided on an ambush.

He left the road and took a path that would lead him to an elevated position where he would be able to shoot the StuG without the others knowing where he was.

Only minutes later he reached a terrace, where he now had a better view on the group of tanks that he was chasing. The movement he had seen had been a single tank that was driving on its own – probably looking out for him. Alac directed his gaze farther ahead and there, in the distance, he saw the rest of the foreigners. Switching to his gun sights, his expression darkened as he spotted the traitorous StuG. Norbert was seemingly leading the group, unaware that Alac was now carefully lining up his shot.

“I found them” he said into his radio. “The traitor is with them.” The answer from command followed after what had seemed like an eternity.  
«Good work» the voice on the other end of the line said, «Where are they?»  
“Near Staldenried. Request permission to take out the traitor.”  
«Negative.» the voice said. Alac had to hold back an angry ‘What?!’.  
«Wait for backup. He will face a trial. A detachment will arrive in approximately three hours.»  
“Three hours may be too late! They are going to reach the border soon!” Alac protested. He desperately stared at the StuG in his sights. He couldn’t allow him to get away!  
«Wait for the detachment.» the superior insisted.  
“Sir, they’re going to reach the border” Alac repeated with urgency in his voice.  
«You will wait. That is an order.» the voice said, sounding irritated now.

Alac turned off his radio and let out a string of curses. How could his commanders allow the traitor to escape?  
“Fuck this” he hissed. They were going to let him get away. His superiors were useless. Once this was over, he would report them and tell high command that they had not been acting for the benefit of the clan. Traitors had to be executed.

He looked at Norbert again, and started getting fidgety. If he sat here and didn’t use this chance…He had to try to change his superior’s mind. Trying to sound more calm than he was, he made one last attempt.  
“Sir” he said, tuning in to the frequency again, “With all due respect, but I believe you are not acting in the interest of our clan. Surely high command would not be pleased to hear that you let a traitor escape. And he  _will_  escape if I don’t act now.”

There was no answer at first, but then the voice spoke to him again.  
«Fire at will.»  
Alac smiled smugly.

The Jagdpanther adjusted his aim one last time and fired.

The shell came out of nowhere. One second Norbert was rolling along obliviously, the next he suddenly blew up. Sky gasped and her gaze darted about as she tried to spot an attacker, as each of her team mates did.  
They scrambled for cover, but there was none. Before the echo of the shot and the explosion had faded, a loud rumbling made everyone’s optics turn towards the mountainside behind them. With a deafening sound, an avalanche started to form, cascading down towards the valley. There was something like a cut off scream. The spectacle only lasted for a few seconds, and the silence afterwards was eerie.

The avalanche hadn’t quite reached the valley, but no more shots followed, so it was safe to assume that it had taken care of whoever had fired the first one.

Sky looked at Crowley standing near her and he looked back, seeming as aghast as her. Her gaze wandered to the burning wreck that was left of their guide and she grimaced. They had made it so far, and now death had caught up with him after all. It was a shame. She would have loved to have him as her team mate.

“Poor bastard. He was a huge help to us.” Crowley said quietly, looking at the StuG as well. The Jumbo had rolled closer, his cannon lowered. Sky nodded without saying a word. The others were looking on silently.

“What now?” Crowley asked eventually. He raised his gaze to look at Sky.

“He said that if we just follow this road, we’ll reach the border in about an hour.” the Pershing said.

Crowley nodded and sighed with relief. He and the rest of the team sincerely hoped that this had been the last bad surprise during their stay in this province.


	56. Exchange

Contrary to what they feared, they reached the border safely. It was marked by a similar formation of buildings like the one at the other border. This time Goggles could fly over them effortlessly, but she suddenly reported another unknown tank.  
«Could be another scout» she said pensively, «But they don’t look like they’re patrolling or anything.»  
“We’ll take care of it” Sky replied and turned to the high tiers on her team, sending Pepper and Rex to deal with the stranger.

The rest of them stayed behind and waited. It didn’t take long until the two tanks had reached the stranger and could confirm that it wasn’t a Swiss tank.

Sky approached the KV-4 who was just standing there, looking apathetic in the face of having two high tiers and a Pershing watching him warily.  
“Are you alone? Where’s your team?” Sky asked and got a non-committal shrug in response.  
“Dead, I guess” the KV-4 rumbled, with an accent that matched his Russian appearance. His armour was battle-worn, which in turn matched his weary expression. “They went in there and I told them not to, but they didn’t listen. Haven’t heard from them since.”  
Sky tilted her cannon inquiringly.  
“Why are you staying here, then, if you don’t think they’ll return?”  
The KV-4 gestured dismissively.  
“Doesn’t matter if I starve here or somewhere else, does it?” he murmured.

Sky shared looks with Rex and Pepper.  
« _We could use a KV-4._ » Rex nonverbally transmitted. He was right, another tier 8 would be a great addition to the team, even though he didn’t seem very keen on surviving. But maybe that would change if they accepted him into their team.  
“Do you have a name?” Sky asked the KV-4.  
“Rill.” he said.  
“Rill, you could join our team if you want.” Sky offered.  
The Russian considered the offer for a moment and eventually nodded.

Soon after they could be sure that the troublesome way through the Confoederatio hadn’t been in vain.  
Arty finally picked up a signal from her old team again, and it was clearer than it had been before. Crowley could talk to Barfly too, and the Sherman was still healthy and unharmed.

By the time they reached South Coast, it was for sure that the other team was near and that they hadn’t missed them this time. Arty heard them talk about reaching the very same base soon, and the Tanking League decided to wait for them right there.

Splitting up, they made sure to watch all directions the other team could come from.

Eject’s engine was rumbling idly. Keeping an optic on the beach was indescribably dull. Seagulls were circling above and the waves lapped at the sand, a soft breeze driving them forward. It was peaceful…boring. There was no sign of the other team.

The T29 dug his tracks into the sand, stretching out with a yawn. He threw a look behind him to make sure that Arty was still there. She was hiding a short way off. A small bit of her was sticking out from behind the rock. There was no better rock available, unfortunately.

“Still awake?” he asked, getting a “Barely!” in response. So they were on the same page.

He turned back around and started humming to himself.  
“You make a tier ten cry…” he murmured, singing along with his radio.  
Only moments later however there was an incoming transmission.  
«There’s a scout. We’re gonna catch him!» Fox reported. Eject wasn’t sure how the slow King Tiger intended to catch a scout, but he took his word for it.

“Arty, come on” the T29 said, “They’re probably gonna need us over there.”  
The Sturmpanzer hesitantly rolled out from behind her cover and nodded.

By the time they arrived at Fox’ position, the King Tiger had indeed managed to catch the scout and was holding him at gunpoint.  
There were also other tanks; most of the Tanking League was present as well and there was also a group of three other strangers from Arty’s old team.

Sky was talking to one of them, an ARL V39. The other Tanking League’s heavy tanks were holding back a yelling and struggling Crowley – he demanded to see his brother – but other than them no one seemed to pay attention to him.

Eject noticed the clattering of Arty’s armour, the SPG was shuddering. He couldn’t imagine what she felt like, meeting the team again that had kicked her out as a team killer. They seemingly hadn’t noticed her yet, though.

“You have to give him back” Sky told the ARL insistently. The French tank destroyer shook his cannon.  
“Why should we? We defeated his team. He’s one of us now.” he said matter-of-factly. “We did nothing that goes against any rules.”

It was sad but true. The Tanking League had no claim on Barfly whatsoever, unlike this team. Sky lowered her cannon with obvious frustration.

They ended up letting the scout go, and the trio plus scout returned to their own team that was camping outside the base.

“We should just kill them!” Crowley fumed, giving everyone wild glares. They had gathered around a campfire to discuss their next steps.

“We could surely pull it off,” Pepper mused, “even without me and Rex-“

All optics fell on Arty as the Sturmpanzer spoke up feebly.  
“Please don’t kill them” she said.  
“What?!” Crowley barked, “I thought they kicked you out. Why do you care if they die? Was it not that they tried to kill  _you_?” 

Arty dropped her gaze. “Not all of them are bad…” she said quietly, then added, “and I  _did_  kill someone after all, so it’s not like it was unjustified…”

The medium twisted his turret around in exasperation, but he forced himself to calm down and speak reasonably. “So what do you suggest then?” Crowley demanded, firmly but quietly. His tone was more moderate now after he had accidentally snapped at her. “Do you have any better ideas?”

The Sturmpanzer remained silent and sullenly shook her cannon. 

Eohelm came to her defence, thinking out loud. “Besides, they may hurt Barfly if we attack them. He’s their life assurance at the moment. We could… ask them if there is anything we could do for them in return for getting your brother back.” he suggested. “A trade, of sorts.”

Crowley obviously didn’t think highly of that idea, but he nodded nevertheless. Anything to get Barfly back. If it came down to it, he’d trade himself away if it meant his brother could join the Tanking League where he’d be safe and cared for.

They met up with the other team again, this time sending a small group to  _them_. They were received warily. Again Sky spoke to the ARL, this time however the outcome was positive – somewhat. The other team did suggest a trade; if one of the Tanking League joined them, they would in turn let Barfly go.

She told them that they would think about the offer and returned to the base.

***

Explaining the situation to the others, it was Crowley who was the first to offer himself for the trade.

“Send me,” he said, voice shaking initially. Then, seemingly steeling himself, he spoke again in stronger tones. “Trade me - I’m more valuable to them than Barfly. H-he’s weak, he doesn’t have the armour like I do… I’m sure they’ll see it as a f-fair… trade…” His voice dropped again, and was followed first by a tense silence.

But then another voice spoke up.

“I’ll go.”

Sky sighed as she looked at Arty, feeling deep in her fuel tank that this was no joke.

“I’ll go.” the Sturmpanzer repeated with shaky determination.

“No!” Crowley snapped immediately, “I can’t ask this of you! I got you into this, I-I should…” he trailed off, seeing the SPG’s somber but sure expression.

Arty shook her cannon. “You did all of this to be reunited with your brother. It would be cynical if you couldn’t be with him after all.”

In the resulting noise of everyone talking over each other and discussing whether Arty should leave or not, Crowley gave the Sturmpanzer a long, thoughtful look. He knew that it would be selfish of him to let her go instead. But this was simply an offer he couldn’t reject, as much as he felt that he should have. He felt as though a weight was crushing him, but he ignored it. She was right, after all.

Sky silenced the others, and turned back to Arty. “Are you sure?” She asked, giving the SPG a torn look. She too wished that this wouldn’t be necessary, yet understood the decision in a wretchedly tactical way. Arty nodded.

“They always were keen on having artillery on their team. Back when my first team was defeated by them, of the survivors they specifically asked  _me_  to join them because they wanted artillery. I think they might take me back” she said.

“But you are dead to them,” Eject argued.

Arty looked at him. “I know,” she said gravely, “but maybe they’ll let me explain this time. It won’t hurt to try, right?”

“I agree,” Crowley said quietly, “it’s worth the attempt.” He stared at the others, expression unreadable.

Sky agreed as well, although reluctantly. She had grown to like the Sturmpanzer a lot. She’d even say they were friends. It would be a shame if she left, especially under such circumstances. She didn’t trust the other team to treat the SPG well. But it was a lose-lose situation: either one of them went or they wouldn’t get Barfly back. She would have volunteered herself, but knew that the others needed her and wouldn’t let her go, whereas Arty was a lower tier and not as direly needed, as harsh as that sounded. And if Arty wanted to go, she couldn’t stop her.

“Ready?” she asked her as a bit later, they prepared themselves to go to the other team to tell them their decision. Arty took a deep breath through her vents and nodded.  
Pepper was with them and gave the Sturmpanzer an encouraging nudge.  
“You’re very brave” he said.  
Arty looked at the path ahead of them. She was trying to think of what to tell her old team mates. She would only have this one chance to convince them to take her back. The stakes were high.  
“Let’s go” she said.

Arty and Sky set themselves into motion, leaving the base and Pepper behind. He would stay nearby, in case there was trouble that needed a tier 10 to intervene.

It was the same ARL that received them as the last few times. By his side, there were a T67 and a VK 30.01(H). Arty had known the ARL as a S35 CA. He had obviously tiered up in the meantime. She also recognized the other two; they seemed to recognize her at the same time.

“Arty…” the ARL muttered, his expression somewhere between disbelief and shock. “You’re still alive??”

Arty avoided his gaze and nodded. She was shaking again. The other two tanks of her old team were quiet, still processing what they were seeing. The ARL’s expression turned to a scowl.

“What are you doing here? Are you the one who’s supposed to join us? Are you  _serious?_ ” He sounded mocking as he spoke.

“Yes, we are being serious” Sky hissed, silencing his laughter. The ARL swore he heard her load a shell, but couldn’t be sure. Arty, in the meantime, didn’t speak and just stared at the ground. 

The T67, looking outright furious and not about to let himself be intimidated by some fancy medium, spoke up suddenly.

“Did she tell you that she’s a team killer?? She killed one of us! How could you possibly think we would take her back?” he barked.

“It was an accident.” Sky said firmly. “And, as I heard it, was it not you and your kind that instigated the incident? I’d have killed you on the spot myself. I’m kinda thinking about it right now.”

“It was!” Arty added, finally having regained the power of speech. She didn’t want Sky’s anger to get the better of her now, and threatening them was of no help in this situation. “Please, listen to me. I never wanted to kill anybody. I didn’t mean to hit him. Please give me a second chance! I’ve become much better as an SPG!”

“That’s right” Sky affirmed, “she’s fighting with us no problem and we have tier eights and above. She performs as well as any GW, if you ask me. You would regret not having her on your team.”

The ARL and his companions frowned at them. “We want someone else. What about the other arty on your team?”

The Pershing’s cannon raised angrily. “You can’t have him.” Sky snapped at once, then added a more diplomatic, “He’s only tier three.” She glanced uneasily back at her team mates.

The strangers shared unhappy looks, remaining silent for a moment. “We’ll have to discuss this. You can wait here.” The ARL eventually said curtly. They drove away, leaving behind the two Tanking League members.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Sky tried to cheer up Arty. The Sturmpanzer looked like she needed that cheering up. “And hey, maybe in the future we could visit you? Maybe this team will seek out allies some day? You never know what the future holds. I say, this isn’t over until it’s over, eh?”

The wait was excruciating, but finally the ARL returned, his two team mates with him again. “You can stay with us,” he said to Arty. He looked worn out from the discussion he had most likely just gotten out of. The Sturmpanzer sighed a breath of relief.

“Can I go and say goodbye to the others?” she asked.  
“Go ahead.” the ARL said. “Tell us when you’re ready to join us. We will release the Sherman then.”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Sky said formally. “I’m glad we could resolve this… peacefully." The ARL nodded at her again, somewhat nervously.

“Nooo problem, m’dear.”

***

Arty looked at the tanks – and the plane – in front of her. They had all gathered to tell her goodbye, and the Sturmpanzer had a hard time not getting sentimental.

“Are you really sure about this? Now would be the last chance to turn back.” Sky said.

Arty waved her cannon, trying to look casual.

“I’ll try to make the best of it. And who knows, maybe it won’t be too bad.” Her voice grew choked as she went on, “Thank you all for everything. Without your help I would be dead.”  
“If you ever get the chance to leave them, you can always join us again” Eohelm said, and the others nodded agreeingly.

Sky drove up to the Sturmpanzer’s side and gave her a firm pat.  
“Listen Arty, we won’t go far away. If anything happens, you can run away and come back, alright?” the Pershing said.  
Arty nodded wistfully. “I’ll try.” she said.

Crowley drove forward, bowing his cannon to the Sturmpanzer.   
“I can’t thank you enough” he said. Arty smiled at him.  
“Tell your brother I said hello!” she said. Crowley nodded earnestly.  
He backed up, and Awol drove up to her as well.  
“Arty…We’ll miss you…” he said quietly, giving her a sad look. The Sturmpanzer’s smile crumbled a little and she hugged him.  
“I think I should go now. Take care.” she said, then threw one last gaze at her team mates. “Good luck to all of you.” she said with a salute.  
“Good luck to you too!” Fox said, and others joined in, saluting and wishing her good luck as well.

With a heavy fuel pump, Arty made her way back to her old team.

***

Crowley anxiously watched the little group come closer. He could barely stand still – his brother was with them! Finally, after such a long and arduous time, he would see him again.

After a few more moments, he could make out the Sherman between the other tanks, and he held his breath. As soon as Barfly spotted him as well, the medium sped up, rushing past his escorts. Now nothing could hold Crowley back anymore either, and he met the other tank halfway with a frantic hug.

“Brother…!” Barfly said softly, “I’m so glad! How did you find us?”  
“That’s a long story…” Crowley replied.  
“I’ve got time!” Barfly laughed and patted his brother’s fender. “But first you should introduce me to our new team mates, don’t you think?”  
Crowley gave him a confused look.  
“Our new team mates?” the Jumbo asked.  
“What, can’t we stay with them? Where should we go?” Barfly asked, tilting his cannon.  
“You’re right” Crowley hummed, “We should stay with them. We definitely owe them.”  
Barfly nodded. They looked at each other for a while longer, smiling with relief, then turned around and drove back to the waiting Tanking League.


	57. Old S[c]ores

The reunion was an uneasy one. Arty was introduced to the newer members of the team that had only joined after she had been kicked out, and also re-introduced to the rest. A lot of them had tiered up or otherwise changed, but she recognized most of them by their engine noises. Even before she had left, her relationship with most of her team mates hadn’t exactly qualified as friendship, and she felt that the fronts had hardened now. In short, while not everyone was angry about her return, no one was happy to see her either. They welcomed the strategic addition, yes, but not the person.

But it was no surprise, and she told herself that the situation was still much better than it could be, keeping the incident in mind. It was still a miracle that they had taken her back at all.

The introductions were almost over, with just one last tank left. Arty drove up to him, the ARL by her side, and looked him over. He was watching her with a grim expression. Discouraged from the very start, Arty tried to look friendly nevertheless.  
“And you are…?” she asked.  
“Don’t remember me?” the M6 in front of her snarled. Now the Sturmpanzer recognized his voice. She froze. He had been an M7 back then. And she had killed his best friend.  
“Oh, of course you do” the M6 went on, his look only darkening. He looked like he was ready to lynch her. “You think you can just come back and act all nice and like nothing happened, don’t you?” he hissed, “ _You killed him._ ”   
Arty stared at him in disbelief. He was really going to do this here, now. In front of everybody.  
“It was an accident-” she said weakly.  
“An accident that you aimed your gun at him and pulled the trigger?”  
“I did not mean to hit him…! And he was doing the same!”  
She felt a poke in her side.  
“Let bygones be bygones.” the ARL who had been silent so far said sternly, “Now is not the time to discuss this.”  
The M6 fell silent and glared at him and at Arty, but eventually bowed his cannon. Arty knew however he wasn’t going to let it go. Without the need to say it out loud, she knew that he was going to make her life a living hell while she was with this team.

She was glad to get away from him for now.  
“He’s become bitter and quarrelsome” the ARL muttered.  
“Thank you…” Arty said to the tank destroyer, who had effectively saved her from her team mate’s wrath, for now at least.  
He gave her a dismissive look.  
“I won’t play your guardian” he said coolly, “If you want the others to accept you, you’ll have to work for it.”  
Arty looked at the ground.  
“I know” she said quietly. “I’ll do what I can.”  
“You can’t afford any slip-ups. We’ll be keeping a close optic on you. Keep that in mind.” the ARL said and left her.

As time went by, the Sturmpanzer quickly made it a habit to avoid everyone’s gazes. Even the neutral ones looked hostile to her, and she had to keep telling herself that not everyone on the team hated her. A lot of them actually seemed to be okay with the excuse that it had been an accident, but there was a rather vocal minority that clearly wanted her gone.

She was on her way to the fuel pile when she overheard tanks arguing. She didn’t have to wait to hear her name being mentioned to know it was about her. Lowering her cannon defensively, she continued on her way.

“Once a team killer, always a team killer!” a voice shouted. It could only be the M6.  
A cold shiver ran along Arty’s back. That sentence sounded all too familiar, although she couldn’t clearly remember where she had heard it first.   
“We’re  _not_  kicking her again!” another voice replied, “Don’t you remember what happened in Erlenberg? It could have been avoided if we had had arty on our team!”

Arty reached the fuel, but ended up just staring at the cans as she couldn’t help but listen to the argument anxiously. She was on the other end of the camp, but the louder parts of it could be heard all the way over here.

“Also, we traded a  _Sherman_  for her. We shouldn’t have done that if we were going to kick her anyway!”  
“Well, I was against it from the start!”

The Sturmpanzer sighed.  _Weeks_  had passed, and they were still having the very same discussion. Arty just wanted it to be over already. She had  _proven_  in the last battles that she was a good and useful team member, yet only a few seemed to recognize this. But she didn’t even need them to acknowledge or praise her. Indifference was fine to her. The problem were those who were militant about the issue, like the M6.

She could feel a burning hatred in each of his glares; a hatred that had been festering inside him while she was gone. He had probably thought that he’d never get retaliation for what had happened, and now, Arty was in his reach but he wasn’t allowed to harm her. The SPG couldn’t shake the bad feeling that he would find a way in the end.

While she tried to ignore it, it followed her around like her shadow. She was _terrified_  of the rage that boiled behind these optics. She feared what would happen if he finally managed to convince the others to get rid of her again. What if this time he decided to follow her and make sure that she  _really_  was dead?

She wished that she could just go and say sorry and be done with all of this, but it simply wasn’t that easy – she had tried. Not only didn’t the M6 want to forgive her either way, she also got tired of apologizing. Of course killing the Stuart had been a crime and wrong, and she felt terrible about the accident.

But he had been a bully. He and the M6 both. They had never missed a chance to pester her. She didn’t go as far as thinking that he had had it coming, but she also didn’t want to apologize to her bully any longer.

With another sigh, she eventually tended to the fuel. It was trickling down her intake slowly; she had to force it. The constant uneasiness about what would happen next wasn’t good for her. The team mates that disliked her didn’t only want to kick her now, they also wanted to get her branded to make sure something like this never happened again. And she could never be sure that they didn’t get through with it eventually. Her appetite was suffering. She also didn’t sleep well anymore, and when she was awake she worried. Not even the occasional nice conversation with one of the friendlier team mates and all her attempts to see the positive sides changed that.

She heard something being knocked over and flinched. Throwing a quick look at the source, she saw the M6 storming off. The argument went on without him, however it eventually died down, now lacking the main driving force behind it. The others who were against her stay weren’t as adamant about it. She had just finished her fuel when the VK 30.01(H) came to see her.

“We’ve made a decision.” he told her, making her freeze. His next words were radically different from what she had expected.  
“We’ll have you upgraded to a Grille as soon as possible.”

Arty looked at him blankly for a moment. This was the opposite of the news she had feared. So  _that’s_ what had caused the argument this time? She could see how it would inspire the wrath of certain tanks. Granting an outlaw such a privilege was understandably scandalous. But as a higher tier she would be able to serve the team better, so she could see why the leaders would want her to tier up. The others were all higher tiers than her by now.

“We’re going to send scouts to find a team that has a Grille.” the VK continued matter-of-factly. He watched her almost warily, probably not sure what to think about her silent staring. So far he had given her the impression of being almost afraid of her. It was as if he expected her to try to shoot him any moment.

The Sturmpanzer nodded.  
“Thank you.” she said. Upgrading to the Grille would bring her one step closer to the Hummel, and that could only be a good thing.

The VK retreated and Arty was left on her own again, eventually making her way back to the spot of this base that she had chosen for herself to hang around at. Other than how it had been with the Tanking League, with a few exceptions every now and then, no one here really ever talked to her, so she spent most of the time dwelling on her own thoughts.

She thought about her coming upgrade, and what would happen once she could be a Hummel. The Rainmakers and Scarlett’s promise came to her mind again, and she lowered her cannon wistfully. She knew that the Tanking League would have let her go to join them if she really wanted to, but she wasn’t sure about this team. It was the irony about it all – part of them wanted her gone, but the other part was keeping a close optic on her to make sure she didn’t run away. Even now when she was alone, she knew that someone was probably watching her.

As it was, she was stuck here with a tank who wouldn’t rest before he made something bad happen to her. She missed the Tanking League, missed them terribly. Sky and Awol and Eject and Noob and all the others. Even Herr Weidner and his grumpy Jagdpanther platoon mate.

She remembered their offers to get her out, but found herself never acting on them. Deep inside, she wanted this to work. She kept telling herself that things would get better if she just held out for a little longer. It wasn’t that bad. Not everyone here was bad. She’d arrange herself with the situation, somehow. There was no need to bother the Tanking League.

She would probably never see them again, so thinking about them and making herself sad was pointless anyway.

***

Sky let her gaze wander over the resting tanks with a content smile. They had taken the South Coast base, simply decided to stay there after the meeting with the other team. It was working out well, and even though they had been attacked once already and had to drive long distances to find other bases to raid, it was a good place to be. It had turned out that a workshop was nearby, which made it even better since they didn’t have to worry too much about getting hurt. Some of her team mates had even used the chance to tier up in the meantime. They had even been able to finally add a light tank to their team, a tier eight at that. Alex had been alone after his team had been wiped out and even though he was a quiet one who didn’t seem to like to talk unless he was spoken to, he wasn’t unfriendly. Sky was glad to have him. At the moment the WZ-132 was patrolling, doing what light tanks did best. The Pershing felt at ease knowing that he was watching their surroundings.

Her gaze wandered further and she saw Crowley and his brother stand together, talking about something. They had a lot to tell each other since their reunion. The Pershing was happy for them, and she was glad that they hadn’t given up the search despite every hindrance that the forces of random had put in their way. Crowley was feeling much better than he had during their rescue mission, which also meant that he was finally opening up to the others. It was good to see him flourish like that, and she was glad that everyone got along.

Thinking about the Jumbo and the team, inevitably, she also had to think of another one of her team mates, the one that had left them.

“I wonder how Arty is doing” she thought out loud to her brother, who was sitting next to her. There had been no distressed comms from her yet, so maybe everything was alright after all and Sky’s worry was unjustified. And the others were probably not worried either, but the Pershing simply had this bad feeling. Awol gave her an uncomfortable sounding “Mh-hm”. He thought the same, had told her before that he wished she could have stayed. Like most of the others who had known her better, he missed her.

“I’m thinking about sending Alex to check if everything is still alright.” Sky said, turning towards the Wespe. “He might be sneaky enough that they wouldn’t notice him observing them for a while.” She didn’t believe that the other team had killed her, but hoped that looking after the Sturmpanzer from afar would soothe her conscience. Her brother nodded slowly.

Sky put her plan into action, and was met with positive reactions about her idea from her team mates. They explained to the light tank whom he had to look for, and sent him away.

***

The search for a Grille went on for quite some time. It wasn’t that easy to find one, especially not here where there weren’t many teams around them to begin with. They fought several other teams, but none of them had the SPG that they were looking for in their ranks.

In the meantime, the M6 had seemingly figured out a way to make Arty feel even worse. She was just slurping some fuel after one of their raids as he suddenly showed up. There was no talk and no warning as he knocked over the fuel can she was currently drinking from.  
“H-Hey!” Arty gasped, and earned a spiteful look. She looked at the quickly growing puddle of fuel on the ground and felt bad. There was no doubt that he had done this on purpose. He was already driving off again. Arty couldn’t just take another can, but she had barely gotten any fuel from hers.

She wanted to think of it as an isolated incident, a one-time thing, but it turned out not to be that.

The next time it was already dark as she went to refuel, and she didn’t notice him waiting for her at first. As soon as she had started refueling, he appeared from the darkness and even though Arty saw him coming this time, she couldn’t do anything about it as he knocked her fuel can over again.

“Stop that!!” she wheezed, but he just snorted.  
“No. You don’t deserve it.” he said coldly.  
Arty stared at him in disbelief.  
“Are you gonna do this every time I try to refuel now? Is that the plan?” she spat. He gave her a stubborn look. Yes, that was obviously the plan.  
“I’m gonna tell the leaders…!” Arty cried.  
“Don’t you dare” the M6 hissed, hovering next to her threateningly.  
Arty fell silent with frustration. What was he going to do if she did? But she had to, or else he wouldn’t stop until she was starving.

He glared at her for a moment longer, then drove on, leaving her intimidated, angry, and most of all, hungry.

It couldn’t go on like this. Arty was about to dial the private frequency of the ARL to report her team mate, but much to her own dismay, she hesitated. She had to find another way.

From that point on, she always waited for others to refuel before she did too. She believed that if she refueled at the same time as them, the M6 wouldn’t dare to interrupt her. The first time she did it, he followed her to the fuel spot, but hesitated when he saw the others there. It seemed to work, because he trundled off again and she could finally refuel in peace. But it only worked the first couple of times.

He eventually got bolder, and finally showed up again as she was in the middle of refueling.  
“Hey Arty” he said, and the Sturmpanzer could only watch as he knocked over the can, making it look casual as he ran it over.  
“Oh, my bad” he sneered. Arty looked to the others, but the two tanks were just watching, either not caring or not willing to involve themselves with this. That was the exact opposite of what she had hoped for when refueling together with the others. But then again, wasn’t that what they had been doing back then before the accident? Maybe she shouldn’t have expected them to do anything but watch, like they always did.

As the same thing happened the next time and her team mates didn’t do anything about it again, Arty decided that she had to tell the leaders anyway. She couldn’t focus when she was hungry all the time, and it would only be a matter of time until it would affect her performance in battle. Then it wouldn’t only be the M6 who’d tell her afterwards that she didn’t do well. And that would be very bad for her.

Making her way to the ARL, she wished that he could be more like Sky. Sky would have listened to her trouble and she would have done something about it. And she wouldn’t have hesitated to talk to Sky. But Arty still clearly remembered when the ARL had told her that he wasn’t her guardian. She wasn’t sure if talking to him would achieve anything positive at all.

A short talk later, her suspicion was confirmed. The ARL had just told Arty that she had to stand up to the heavy tank herself, that she couldn’t expect others to do it for her. Which was difficult, considering that the M6 was much bigger and stronger than she was.

Arty felt worse than before after the talk was over.

***

It didn’t take long for the light tank to reach the other team. He was careful not to get spotted, which would have been easier if he had been allowed to take out the light tank that he had almost run into. A sneaky one that one had been. But Alex had managed to hide himself just in time. It surely would have alarmed the team if they had seen a tier eight scout observe them, since their tier difference was within the allowed range for an attack nevertheless. Not that it would have really mattered to him if he _alarmed_  a team, and he was sure that he would have been able to take out a bunch of them, but this mission was a rather special one as he had to get close enough to find a certain tank, and getting shot at would have been counter-productive. Especially since he was sure that if they thought they were getting attacked, they would hide their arty and there was no way he would be able to watch her properly. That was part of the mission too – not just to make sure she was alive, but Sky had thoroughly made herself clear that she also wanted to know if Arty was getting mistreated in some way.

After he had found a good spot where he could see most of the base, he hid himself under some foliage and started his observation duty. He had spotted a grey and brown Sturmpanzer II, which exactly fit the description he had gotten from his team’s leader. Sipping some fuel casually, he watched her for many hours, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary about her behaviour. She just did normal tank things, even though he noticed that she was mostly by herself. Only once someone joined her and seemed to talk to her, and so even though it didn’t look like she was very popular with the others, it didn’t seem like anyone was treating her badly at least.

Watching for a little longer, he eventually decided that there was no reason to be concerned about her well-being. He considered his mission a success and retreated, then informed Sky about his findings on the way back. The Pershing sounded relieved as he told her that the Sturmpanzer was perfectly fine.


	58. Vengeance

The team was making preparations for the coming battle; the scouts had finally been able to locate a team with a Grille. Arty was excited but also worried. This battle was going to be an important one. The base was so busy that she almost didn’t notice the M6 storming towards her.

He crashed into her roughly. Some of the tanks around them looked up, probably trying to decide whether to stop the heavy tank, but no one ended up doing anything, instead continuing their tasks.

The Sturmpanzer braced herself against the other tank and avoided his glare, saying nothing. He dug his tracks into the ground, pushing her backwards and denting her fenders.  
“Looking forward to the battle?” he hissed. Arty froze as he lowered his voice and added, “You’re never gonna upgrade to a Grille, I’ll make sure you won’t!”

That threat was new. She gave him an aghast look, which he returned grimly before he backed up and drove off. Arty looked around, but no one else had heard it. No one was looking into her direction.

The SPG’s ventilation quickened. She tried not to panic. How would he stop her from tiering up? There was no way! This had to be an empty threat.

Trying to remember what she had been doing before, she found that she couldn’t focus anymore. Her thoughts were racing too much with fear and concern. She rolled around the base, aimless and confused. Now would have been the time where she should have just called the Tanking League for help, but she had taken them off her mind so thoroughly that it didn’t even occur to her, especially not in her panicked state. But even if she had done it, what would they have done? It was too late to start planning a sophisticated escape.

“Hey, everything alright?” someone asked. Arty looked at the T-25 that she had almost bumped into and quickly nodded her cannon.  
“Yeah- I’m just-“ she said, but the medium already was moving on.

Arty stopped her headless running around and looked at the ground. She had to calm down. If she didn’t calm down, she would mess up during the coming battle. Everything would be fine. They would defeat the other team, and they would retrieve the body of the enemy Grille and find a TRV to upgrade her. The M6 couldn’t do anything about it.

Her train of thought stopped dead in its tracks when a sudden panicked thought came over her.

_He’s gonna kill me._

She didn’t know how he was going to do it, but she was now sure that he would.

_I’m going to die._

Maybe he didn’t care anymore about being labeled a team killer himself. Maybe he would just go ahead and execute her when no one was looking, claiming that an enemy had done it. During a fight, where things could get chaotic, something like that could happen.

She didn’t want to join this battle anymore. She had to find the ARL.

Searching for him frantically, she quickly found him talking to someone else. When the two of them saw the unhinged Sturmpanzer approach them, they stopped their conversation and looked at her, expressions puzzled.  
“Is something wrong?” the ARL asked with a frown.  
Arty bowed her cannon.  
“I can’t join this battle” she said with a shaky voice, fearful heat burning behind her armour.  
The ARL and the other tank looked even more confused.  
“What? Why?” he asked sharply, “This battle is important for you!”  
Arty knew that. She stared at the ground. She was shaking like a leaf.  
“The…the M6…” she whimpered.

She heard a weary sigh from the ARL, but as she gave him a timid look, his expression spoke of concern.  
“What is it now?” he asked.  
Arty’s voice grew even weaker.  
“He-…he wants to kill me” she wheezed.  
“Did he say that??” the ARL asked quickly, sharing an alarmed look with the tank by his side.  
“No, but…” Arty said feebly, “I know he will…!” She gave the two other tanks a pleading look. She didn’t know what to do; she was scared out of her mind.

“He won’t be anywhere near you during the fight” the ARL tried to reason with her, “He’ll be part of the spearhead.”

That didn’t really calm Arty down since she was absolutely convinced that he would find a way, but it was also the ARL’s last word on the matter.  
“You should get ready now. We’re leaving presently.” he told her and then turned back to the other tank to continue the conversation they had had before the Sturmpanzer had disrupted it.

Arty felt stunned as they made their way through the fields. It was still early so the hills were covered in fog, turning the already snowy landscape even whiter as the sun still struggled to rise. The Sturmpanzer’s unsteady breath blew tiny puffs of mist into the cool morning air as she followed the others. She was trying to get into the right mindset for the battle, but all she could think about was the M6’s threat. Her fuel tank was nearly empty as well, only contributing to her overall bad feeling.

The team they were going to fight was traveling southwards along a road, so the scouts had said. They would assault them, kill whoever they could and try to take out the Grille in a way that would still make it usable for an upgrade. Everyone had had their roles assigned in a briefing beforehand, so in theory everyone should know what they had to do.

Arty’s task, as always, was to do ‘her thing’. After having fought with the Tanking League, she now realized how negligent that was. Artillery could have concrete orders that allowed it to work together more closely with the others and therefore made it even more effective, but no one on this team seemed to realize this. They never had.

They eventually dropped her off at a good spot where she would be able to fight undisturbedly. It was an important part of being an SPG to be in the right place at the right time, or else she would be easy prey for enemy tanks. She had to be far enough away from the enemy tanks to be out of danger, but also close enough to be able to still shoot them. A Sturmpanzer II cannon couldn’t shoot particularly far, so Arty always had to be somewhat near the battle, other than SPGs with a longer range. As she looked over the fields that would soon become a battlefield, the familiar action finally allowed her to snap out of her daze somewhat. She finally managed to push the thought of the M6 aside, instead mentally went over what she remembered of the briefing.

The spearhead would take out the enemy scout to announce their presence and then attack the enemy team, distracting them while a group of heavies and mediums would make their way to the enemy’s hopefully unprotected flank. The ARL, together with the T-25 and another tank destroyer would snipe, supporting the spearhead. It would show if the plan would work out the way they wanted it to.

Arty checked the surrounding area, finding it calming somewhat as her gaze drifted over the hills. Trees stood together in small groups or alone here and there, amid unkempt, snow-covered vine fields. The ridges of the hills were adorned by small buildings, between which her team mates were now hiding, all looking down on a road that ran along the feet of said hills. The flanking group had taken the western hills, while the spearhead occupied the eastern ones. Further down the road, where it climbed one of the hills, the snipers had set themselves up. No enemy could be seen yet, but shortly they would appear on exactly this road.

The Sturmpanzer made sure to make herself familiar with the different portions of the battlefield, and she took a closer look at the terrain, its heights and depths, taking note of any rises that would block her shot. Taking inventory of where she would be able to shoot and where she wouldn’t that way, she created a mental map of the area that would allow her to save valuable time later when there would be the need for split-second decisions.

By the time she was done, she felt much better already. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the M6’s words were still weighing on it heavily, but she had pushed them far away in preparation of the battle where she would need a clear mind, that special state of mind that a tank learned to enter early on. Now she was truly ready. The enemy could come.

«Everyone, remember that they have a Grille! Keep moving or you’ll end up as arty fodder!» the ARL reminded the team. Arty knew that it applied to her as well. If she wasn’t careful, it was possible that the enemy SPG figured out her position and countered her. Which would mean a very swift death.

She took a deep breath and waited. It didn’t take long until one of their scouts reported contact, and the battle began.

Arty’s sights fell on the light tank that their scout had seen. She held her fire, and a moment later the light tank blew up as it was hit by multiple shells at once. Their scout popped up behind the ridges and did a quick headcount of the approaching enemy tanks that now broke their march formation in alarm.

Arty caught a blurry glimpse of a group splitting from the main force, but trees blocked her view of where they were going. Another tank split from the others as well, going for the opposite direction. She chased it for a moment, but it was moving too fast and erratically, probably a light. She instead focused on a medium tank that was sitting completely still and fired.

The shot missed the medium by a small margin, but the burst still damaged it heavily. A column of black smoke rose from the wounded tank, but the others by its side paid no attention to it as they formed a firing line, heavies in the front and tank destroyers in the back. Arty set her sights on a Nashorn that wasn’t moving either, probably unaware of being watched. She waited for her gun to reload and threw a quick glance at her own team mates.

She felt a twinge of panic as her gaze fell on the group that was led by the M6. But he was busy, and the SPG tried to focus again. He was far away from her. He couldn’t possibly hurt her in any way. And maybe, who knew, maybe he would fall during this battle? She felt bad for hoping for a team mate’s death, but if it was him or her, she knew what her decision was.

The spearhead was moving in, taking strategic positions. The advance faltered as suddenly their flank was attacked by what looked like two heavies and two more other tanks. Arty recognized the fastest moving tank as a medium, but couldn’t clearly see what the last one was. Her gun finished reloading and she quickly shot the Nashorn that she had been aiming it at. It blew up a couple of seconds later. Arty remembered just in time to relocate, because just as she had finished moving, an explosion tore up the ground where she had been a moment before. It looked like the Grille had taken notice of her.

She didn’t waste any time and quickly switched to her gun sights again, feeling her fuel tank turn as she saw her team mates take heavy hits from the enemy flankers. The spearhead had had to split up. While the M6 and two other heavies held the firing line, another heavy, accompanied by a medium and one of their scouts were trying to hold back the flankers. They were having trouble, being pushed back as they scrambled for cover.

 _The flank’s gonna collapse_ , Arty thought frantically, and she strained to reload faster. She rushed to shoot one of the enemy heavies, but missed completely. Cursing, she saw that the enemy Grille had more luck; it took out a heavy to the M6’s left. In retaliation, the M6 killed one of the two Churchill tanks on the enemy team.

Finally Arty’s team’s own flankers had made their way across the hills and popped up to the left of the enemy’s main force. They had taken care of the single light tank that had been coming their way and tore into the tanks before them now, forcing them to break up their firing line as they struggled to fend off the new attackers. Arty watched her team mates wreak havoc amongst the remaining heavies and mediums, buying her team’s spearhead some time to disengage and defend the flank instead.

Said flank was still in danger of falling. The snipers were moving up to help, but it would still take a while before they would reach it. Only the T-25 was fast enough to arrive moments later, but only to take a nasty hit from a hidden tank destroyer.

Arty reloaded as fast as she could, fired another shot and managed to finish off the enemy medium tank. Her team’s scout saw his chance and rushed past the enemy line to pester a Pz. Sfl. IVc that helplessly turned in circles, trying to catch the turreted light tank.

Finally the flank seemed to stabilize, now that the rest of the spearhead was helping as well, and they quickly took apart what was left of the flankers while the enemy’s main force started to fall as well. Arty’s team’s other scout enthusiastically announced over the radio that he was going for the arty, and the Sturmpanzer knew that the battle was almost over. But that meant…

Anxiously, she checked for the M6, who together with the T-25, was brawling with the last remaining enemy flanker, a VK 36.01 (H). The T-25 took a hit to his track and came to a halt. Arty couldn’t see him clearly, but she feared that the track had been blown off.

«Arty!» the M6 suddenly called her over the radio. He took cover behind the flailing T-25. Arty flinched, not realizing that he was calling her on a private frequency. «Shoot the VK!» the M6 demanded, «Now!»

It was a risky shot – her two team mates were too close to the enemy she was told to shoot – but Arty knew that it would reflect on her negatively if she denied them the help. The T-25 was in obvious trouble, even more so because of the M6 selfishly using him as a meat shield, and the VK looked like a well-placed artillery shell would knock it out.

Arty hurried to aim, trying her best to line up her shot as well as she could, held her breath, and fired.

Her shell hit where she had been aiming. But in the time it was in the air, the VK suddenly backed up as a shot hit the ground just in front of his tracks, and the M6 started pushing the T-25. Arty let out a scream as she saw what the shell was going to hit, but there was nothing she could do about it anymore – it was already in the air. With the precision of only those shells that were flying towards team mates could have, it struck the T-25’s turret, turning him into a ball of fire.

The M6 got caught in the explosion as well, but he seemed very alive as he yelled over the radio that Arty had ‘done it again’.

Arty backed up, stared in terror. No.  _Not again_. Someone took out the VK, but all that Arty could hear was her team mates asking what the hell was going on.  
«She did it again!» the M6 repeated, «She killed the T-25! I saw it!»  
«Arty, what did you  _do?!_ » the ARL barked. Arty backed up even further.  
“I didn’t-… _I-…“_  she stammered, knowing that she was in deep trouble, even more so this time. “I didn’t mean to-“  
«Once a team killer, always a team killer!» the M6 shouted, and much to Arty’s despair, others joined in.  
«Let’s get her!» one of her team mates shouted, and Arty started running.

She rushed through the fields, hearing her team mates shout far behind her.

«She must be branded! Let’s not make the same mistake twice!» someone demanded.  
«No, let’s kill her! She deserves it!» another voice said.

Panicking, Arty looked for any sort of hiding place.

«Don’t let her escape!»

She had to get away. It was all over now. That’s what the M6 had been planning.  _That’s_  how he would get her killed. She heard the engines behind her grow louder; they were getting closer. She wasn’t fast, much slower than her fastest team mates. She had no chance of outrunning them.

Looking left and right, her gaze darted about. There were bushes, trees, rocks, but nothing that could hide a Sturmpanzer. Ahead of her, she spotted houses, but she realized that they would look for her there. Making a sharp turn, she sprinted down the hill and into a group of trees. She had to take a break. Her vents were whirring heavily, and she felt weak – the lack of fuel was taking its toll on her. She couldn’t run much farther; she would run out of fuel fast. But her engine was hammering behind her armour, every single one of her fibres screaming for her to keep running. This group of trees wasn’t safe.

Her team mates’ voices were still filling the radio – they were looking for her. At least they couldn’t follow her track marks, because the ground had been covered in many of them already as this was the direction they had come from.

She peeked out from between the trees, and immediately jerked back as someone rushed past her only a couple of meters away. It was one of their scouts. He had seemed to notice her and braked sharply, skidding several meters before he managed to turn around.

“She’s here!” he shouted, and Arty didn’t think twice before she pulled the trigger. She retreated back into the trees, mind racing. That was another one. There was no hope left for her. She left the group of trees on the opposite side, racing up another hill and reaching a row of hedges that she hid behind. She checked her gun sights, and saw that two of her team mates were checking the group of trees she had just come out of. The others were following a trail of tracks that wasn’t hers.

Arty saw her chance and quickly hurried on, reaching another hilltop and a small building. She drove inside it, trying to catch her breath. Someone on the radio suggested that they split up, while others said that they had lost her. The M6’s voice was distinct as he demanded that they kept looking.

She stuck her cannon outside, risking a look through her sights. They had indeed split up, but were moving further away from her position instead of getting closer. Arty dared to breathe a sigh of relief and rolled back inside.

«She has to be somewhere…!» the M6 urged, but at this point it seemed like the others were giving up. She heard their voices retreat, the noise of engines growing weaker again.   
«She’ll die anyway» the T67 growled.  
«Like last time?» the M6 replied sharply.  
«Who cares if she lives? She’s just a filthy team killer. It’s not our problem. Let’s go back.» another voice threw in.

Arty stared at the wall. A filthy team killer. She closed her optics and turned off the radio.

She let out a deep sigh, shuddering. What should she do now? She didn’t know. The M6 had gotten what he wanted. Once again she was teamless. There was no way she could ever go back to them now.

She should have seen this coming, should have known from the start that her stay with her old team was doomed. Her foolish hope that it could turn out alright had led to her killing even more team mates now. Would the Tanking League even take her back, now that she had done this? One team kill, that could maybe be forgiven, but three? They would probably just kill her if she showed up and told them, like they had done with the GW Panther. Arty opened her view ports.

 _‘The Panther was right all along…’_ , she thought sadly. She could almost see her standing in the corner of the room, grinning at her. “This is  _not_  what I wanted…” the Sturmpanzer mumbled, her voice bitter. But it was who she was.

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, but she grew alert when she suddenly heard something rustling outside. Tension shot through her body as she heard the noise of a loud engine. Who could this be? Were they still looking for her? But hadn’t they said-

She backed up, bumping into the wall behind her. Struggling to load her gun, she stared at the broken down side of the building that she had entered through. One of them must have come back!

Her cannon was shaking as she aimed it at the entrance. Arty’s engine felt like it was going to self-destruct. She tried to keep it down, be quiet. The rustling seemed to reach the building, and it circled it, slowly. The tank outside obviously couldn’t hear her.

‘ _Go away_ ’ she thought frantically, ‘ _Change your mind. No one’s here. Go away._ ’

A set of tracks and a cannon appeared in the entrance. The cannon was turned towards the inside, and the front and turret of the tank appeared as well. The M6 was staring at her.

“You-“ he hissed, but Arty shot him before he could say another word. He screamed, which was bad. He wasn’t dead. Before the smoke could lift, Arty backed up even more, and now tore the wall down. The roof came crashing down on the two of them, but Arty reversed further, shaking off the debris.

“ _You bitch!_ ” she heard the M6 yell, and she backed up behind a second, even smaller building. This was the end. She couldn’t reload fast enough. He was going to get her now. She heard him struggle himself free from the fallen roof as well, and his engine howled as he took up pursue.

She could only stare at him fearfully as he turned the corner, her cannon pointed at him uselessly.

“This is gonna hurt” he growled as he aimed his gun at her and fired. What he hadn’t realized was that the direct hit from her shot had dented the barrel. Before either of them knew what happened, his turret was blown off his body by his own shell detonating before it even left his barrel. Arty yelped as the searing hot explosion scorched her armour.

She backed up and looked at what was left of the M6. His turret had landed several meters away. The dead hull was smoking. It took a moment until what she was seeing sunk in.

‘ _It’s over._ ’ she thought.


	59. Amnesty

Arty had retreated into another nearby building. She didn’t know what or whom she was hiding from now. But she knew that her fuel was running out. She had started feeling weak and dizzy. It was hard to tell for how longer she would manage to stay awake. And once she’d lose conscience…

She didn’t want to think about that. No, she couldn’t just sit here and wait for death. Then all that she had done would have been in vain. But who would come and save her now? Her thoughts wandered and arrived at a certain group of tanks. Would the Tanking League really come and look for her? They had said that she could return to them any time, but would they really want her after this?

There was nothing else she could do but give it a try. Maybe they would decide to leave her here to die, as would be appropriate for a team killer. But maybe, and as unlikely as it was, Arty clung to this hope, maybe they would see that she had had no choice and forgive her another time.

Feebly, she turned her radio back on and tuned in to the Tanking League’s frequency. They were chattering about something that Arty would have needed context for to understand, and for a moment she listened to them wistfully.

It had been so long since she had heard them. When she had left them, she had tuned out their frequency to make the separation easier for her, and now she was almost tearing up as she could finally hear their voices again. The voices of her  _friends_.

She tried to imagine their reactions to her telling them what she had done this time, cringed as she imagined disgust and shock in their expressions.

But what other choice did she have? She had to try.

The noise of her clearing her vents made the voices fall silent.  
“Guys…it’s me.” she said quietly.

***

Following vague directions of a fainting Sturmpanzer, the Tanking League found her after searching the surrounding hills for the whole day. Arty had long lost conscience, which had made it even harder to find her, but eventually they could locate her.

“Give her some room!” Sky said, shooing away Rex and a few others that were all trying to catch a glimpse of the waking SPG. “Leave us alone for a moment, will you?”

They had given her some fuel, and she was just getting responsive again. She was in a terrible shape. Her armour was dented and burnt, and right now Sky could only guess what Arty had been through while she had been with the other team. Something terrible must have happened, that was for sure. They had found a corpse outside.

“Arty…” Sky said softly as she fended her way to the Sturmpanzer. Said Sturmpanzer gave her a subdued look.  
“Thank you for saving me” Arty said weakly, “Even though I don’t really deserve it…”  
That was ominous, and Sky shook her cannon.  
“What are you talking about? What happened?”

Arty’s gaze dropped to the ground.  
“I killed them” she said in a choked voice. “I killed more team mates.”  
Sky frowned. Somehow she had hoped that everything would go well for the Sturmpanzer, but it looked like instead something had escalated horribly. And she should have known. It had been wishful thinking to assume everything was alright after the history Arty had had with the team. Sky shouldn’t have relied so much on one little report from their light tank and instead should have listened to her gut feeling. She shouldn’t have dismissed her worry so easily.

“I’m so sorry” Arty whispered, trembling. “There was an accident…one of them pushed a team mate into my line of fire, and then they tried to kill me…I had to do it…!”  
Sky stared at the ground as well, but then turned to her team mate again.  
“No,  _I’m_  sorry. We should have gotten you out of there much sooner.” She noticed the other tank’s distraught look and moved closer, hugging her cautiously. She could barely express how sorry she felt for not going and getting her friend out of there when the first doubts had arisen. “It’s alright. They’re gone. It doesn’t matter.” she said, trying to make the guilty expression disappear from the other’s posture. Arty didn’t look convinced.  
“What should I tell the others?” the Sturmpanzer asked. Obviously they couldn’t assume that everyone would be as understanding as Sky about the newest incident. The Pershing shook her cannon.  
“They don’t need to know the circumstances. We’ll just tell them they chased you away.” Sky decided.

Arty tried to pull herself together and nodded.

***

“So this is our base now?” Arty asked, overlooking the small town from the hill. The tanks had just returned and were strolling between the buildings; above their plane was flying circles. She saw Fox and Rex waving at her, but didn’t know what mischief they were up to this time. Sky nodded proudly.  
“We decided that we could stay here for a while at least. It’s not too bad here. And a team needs a base, eh?”  
Arty agreed happily. They were finally enough tanks to call themselves a real team and hold a base. When they had started their journey together, it had seemed unimaginable, but it was really happening right then. She couldn’t even begin to grasp how grateful and proud she was to be part of this.

“It’s good to be back” she said with a relieved sigh.  
“And this time you’ll stay with us, promise?” the Pershing by her side said with a broad grin.  
“I promise.” Arty replied and smiled at her before she went to see what the heavies wanted from her.


End file.
